


Is Love Truly Blind?

by bellafarella



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Alternate Universe, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Anniversary, Banter, Best Friends, Blow Jobs, Boys Kissing, Coming Out, Connections, Couch Cuddles, Crossover, Cuddling & Snuggling, Developing Friendships, Dirty Talk, Dry Humping, Erections, Experiment, Falling In Love, Family Bonding, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Feelings, Feelings Realization, First Kiss, First Time, Flirting, Forehead Kisses, French Kissing, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Future Fic, Getting to Know Each Other, Grinding, Guitars, Hand Jobs, Holding Hands, Honesty, Hugs, Kissing, Love, Love Confessions, Love Song, M/M, Marijuana, Marriage Proposal, Meet the Family, Neck Kissing, Not Beta Read, One Year Later, POV Alternating, Past Relationship(s), Realization, Recreational Drug Use, Rimming, Rose gallery, Rough Kissing, Seeing each other for the first time, Sexual Orientation, Singing, Sleepiness, Sleepy Cuddles, Sort Of, Talking before bed, Teasing, Texting, True Love, Vows, Wedding Fluff, Wedding Planning, Weddings, art gallery, canon lines, love is blind, make out, not edited, open communication, smoking weed, touring wedding venues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-24
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:48:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 40,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22867399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bellafarella/pseuds/bellafarella
Summary: Twenty individuals signed up for a scientific/social experiment to prove if love truly is blind. In this experiment they will all live in separate apartments and talk to each other via screens - there will be no face to face interactions. They will have ten days and by the end, if they are not engaged to be married they will leave the experiment alone. Can these twenty individuals find love without ever seeing each other face to face? Will they prove that love truly is blind?
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Comments: 149
Kudos: 165





	1. Day 1 of Experiment

**Author's Note:**

> A new AU, oh boy! So if you've watched Love is Blind on netflix you know the premise of this fic, I've also sort of incorporated The Circle from netflix as well, just for their living arrangements. We will meet more characters as we go along and more tags and rating will change as we go. I will most likely post every Monday, hopefully I will be able to keep that up. 
> 
> I hope this intrigues you and you enjoy this fic!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David has had horrible relationships one after the other with them always wanting something from him like money, status, or his body. Maybe this experiment will help him find true love. 
> 
> Patrick never thought he would be a part of an experiment to find love but here he is in this loft waiting to start this journey. Patrick’s dated a handful of girls but nothing ever felt right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy this first chapter! 💖

DAVID

David signed up to be a part of a scientific experiment that would be filmed for data, to see if love truly is blind. David signed up to see if he can find true love. He’s had a string of horrible relationships that didn’t last long - his longest relationship was four months if you don’t count the month that he had been seeing other people and David found him in bed with two other people. He needs something real. He’s tired of getting stomped on person after person, for them using and abusing him, for only wanting him for his name. He wants to find somebody who will love him for who he is as a person, someone who will see him for all that he is. 

David gets to the complex of where the experiment will be held. He’s instructed to head up to his room and so he takes his luggage with him to the floor and room that will be his for the next ten days. He opens the door and sees a little studio apartment. It has all that he needs - a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and small living room. There is also a balcony, _thank God_. 

He leaves his things in the hall as he looks around. “Okay, I can work with this for ten days,” He says aloud to himself. 

He heads to the kitchen and sees a paper on the table. He picks it up and reads it, ‘Welcome to the experiment! Here you will spend the next ten days talking to other people to see if love really is blind. You will be filmed in every room except for the washroom so we could accurately collect our data. The only way you will meet someone face to face is if you are engaged to that person before or by the end of the ten days. You will leave together the following day after seeing each other for the first time. You will have to plan a wedding in one month and send proof of marriage so we can prove that love truly is blind. At the end of the experiment, you will go home with your earnings for participating in the experiment. Once everyone (ten men and ten women) has arrived, you will get an alert on the screens that are in every room letting you know that you can start your journey in finding love. The screens are voice activated and you will see the other people’s names but there will not be an image. When you want to connect with someone, just ask Siri to start a chat with whom you choose, if the other person accepts then you will begin your journey! Are you ready to find love?’

“Wow, this is so intense, what am I doing?” David says before blowing out a big breath of air. “Okay,” He says to himself before shaking out his arms, “I can do this. If it doesn’t work out, I just go home; I’ll be fine either way.” 

Since he has time to kill whenever that alert will go off, he decides to unpack and settle in. 

PATRICK

Patrick never thought he would be a part of an experiment to find love but here he is in this loft waiting to start this journey. Patrick’s dated a handful of girls but nothing ever felt right. He liked a couple of them a lot, they really connected on things in a deeper way but ultimately that was more of a friendship then a relationship. There has never been any real passion in his life. He doesn’t like sex and feels weird about saying that. He thinks he could like sex because when he pleasures himself he can always finish and actually enjoy himself. He knows it’s because he hasn’t found the right person yet… it has to be. 

He’s pretty sure he needs to find the right girl but he knows that this experiment is completely open – you can chat with people of both genders and different sexual orientations. It’s different than he’s used to and only signed up for something like this because the way he feels – he’s not even sure. What he is sure of is that this is exactly what he needs. 

Patrick stands out on the balcony looking out at the view of Toronto. It’s beautiful, he’s so thankful he has a balcony. There won’t be any access to the internet or their phones so to have this view and being able to sit outside and think will really help him throughout this whole process. 

The alert goes off and everyone has arrived. He sees nineteen other names pop up on the screen, all mixed together. He reads out every name on that list just to see how they sound on his lips. He takes out his notebook and pen. He’s not sure who to pick to start a conversation with so he waits… maybe someone will request a chat with him first.

DAVID

Nineteen names. That’s a lot of names. There are ten women and nine men on the screen that much he knows but that’s it. That’s all he knows until he clicks on a name and gets this thing started. 

_Cameron wants to start a chat with you_

“Oh, thank God,” David says to himself before taking a deep breath and accepting the chat. 

David writes notes under Cameron’s name in his notebook – things he learns about him like that he’s ten years younger than David is, he’s an engineer, he loves football and going to see art shows, he’s intelligent but doesn’t come off as arrogant, and he has a smooth voice. So far, Cameron is great apart from the age thing. David normally doesn’t care about age but he’s 36 and he came into this for more than a hookup – he wants something real and he doesn’t think he’ll find that with Cameron. He says goodbye for now, knowing he might talk to him again since they did have a great time talking but he has eighteen other people to get to know. 

He talks to five other people – none of whom interests him one bit. 

He starts a chat with Stevie. 

“Hello,” A woman’s voice comes through when the call connects.

“Oh, hi,” David says not able to hide the shock, he thought that might be a guy, not that he’s disappointed she’s a she.

“You sound surprised, did you also think I was a dude?” Stevie asks.

David laughs. “Sorry about that, shouldn’t have assumed. Did you get a lot of calls from other girls hoping you were a guy?” He asks.

“If you must know, yes, but also got a call from a girl happy that I am also a girl,” She tells him.

“Mmm, that’s nice for you. So other than those mix-ups, um, how has your day been going?” He asks her unsure of where to begin this conversation. 

“Not bad, it’s pretty weird talking to someone you don’t know and not seeing their face and having to connect deeply with them,” Stevie tells him honestly.

“It’s _very_ weird, I’ve been asked such deep questions about the future and love that I’ve never been asked before,” David tells her, finding himself actually opening up. 

“Tell me about it!” She says then laughs lightly. “Um so what are your thoughts on kids and getting a white picket fence and a dog?” 

David laughs for the first time in this – a genuine laugh and not a forced awkward laugh. “You’re kind of an asshole. I like it.”

Stevie laughs and he likes the sound, she’s open. “So, are you disappointed that I’m a girl?”

“Definitely not,” David tells her. He likes her, she’s funny and rude and he can see himself connecting with Stevie very well. 

They talk for a while about themselves, what they’ve been through and David is seeing how much they have in common. He likes her a lot but he’s not sure at what level yet. 

PATRICK

He’s talked to two girls already that did nothing for him even in terms of personality – Carla and Leilani. He knows he won’t be inviting them to chat again. 

_Rachel wants to start a chat with you_

“Please be better than the last two,” Patrick says to himself before accepting the chat. 

“Hi, Patrick,” a soft, timid voice says through the screen. 

“Hi, Rachel,” Patrick responds back. “How are you today?”

“Feeling a bit weird, I still can’t believe I’m actually doing this,” She tells him.

Patrick smiles at that, he likes her honesty. He laughs lightly, “I know what you mean, this is totally out of my realm of things I ever thought I would do.”

“Yet here we are,” She says with a small laugh of her own. He likes her laugh, it’s cute. He smiles for the first time in this experiment. 

“So tell me, why did you sign up for this?” Patrick asks getting right to it, he thinks she can take it.

“I felt like I was in a rut. I haven’t found that one person that I could connect with in all the ways, you know? So I thought that I would maybe try to find that here – maybe the physical being is what’s stopping me from truly falling in love with someone,” Rachel says with that raw honesty Patrick really likes.

Patrick exhales, _wow_. He says, “I know exactly what you mean.”

Rachel laughs softly. “Tell me about yourself, Patrick,” She tells him. 

So they talk for a while, they tell each other about the basics like what they do for work, where they grew up, what their families are like, and Patrick thinks that he really likes Rachel. She has a beautiful voice and a sweet laugh, she grew up very similarly to him with a big family – they hit it off really well so first impressions of Rachel are through the roof. He will definitely be chatting with her again. 

He takes a minute to go get another beer before going back to the sofa and seeing who else he can chat with. 

He’s spoken to almost every girl on this list but there are two names up there that sound unisex – Stevie and Cameron. He hasn’t requested a chat with them yet nor have they requested him so he lets it be for now. The other chats did not go well; some were pleasant enough but he really wasn’t feeling it right away, and the rest were just so not for him, not a match at all. He still has another girl’s name on this list but before he could click on Mandy, he gets an incoming request.

_David wants to start a chat with you_

“Oh my God,” Patrick mutters to himself. “Okay, just talk and you’ll know if it’s right or not, you can do this,” giving himself a little pep talk. He accepts the chat.

DAVID

“Hi, David,” Patrick’s voice comes through the screen when he accepts the call. 

“Hi, Patrick,” David says. He’s spoken to a few people that he really could not get on with and some that he thinks he could maybe make a connection with after a few more conversations. Now he called Patrick, the next name he decided on. “How’s the experiment going for you so far? Fall in love yet?”

Patrick laughs, David likes that sound. “No, uh, not yet, how about you?”

“No but I might be talking to the new love of my life right now,” He says with a small gasp, feigning surprise. 

It works because he hears that sound again – Patrick laughing. “Anything is possible. Tell me, why did you join the experiment?”

“Straight to the point, huh?” David asks.

“I’m a take charge, straight to the point kind of guy, David,” Patrick tells him. David gets really turned on by that. 

“I like that,” David realizes he said that out loud, “Um, yeah so I joined cause –” he clears his throat, not sure what to say but then decides to just tell the honest truth, what could he lose? “I haven’t found someone who sees me for all that I am and still wants me. I’ve never been in a long-term relationship because people don’t stick around long enough. I’ve been told I’m hard to love. It’s taken me a really long time to not believe the things I’ve been told. I know that I don’t show it in the outside world, I’m rude and sarcastic but I know that I am a good person who cares deeply about his family even if he never sees them. I may not be easy to love but I still deserve someone to love and love me for all that I am – the good and bad.”

Patrick’s silent for a moment and David doesn’t know if he’s scared him off but he’s still active in their chat. He’s about to say something when Patrick says, “Thank you for being so open with me, David.”

David just about melts onto the floor. “Fortunately for you, I’m a very open person,” He hears himself say and outwardly cringes. He hears Patrick laugh and says, “I’m sorry that was – I don’t even know what that was.”

Patrick laughs harder at that. “That was – well, it was not good but don’t be sorry,” He teases.

David smiles, _I like this guy_. “So why did you join the experiment, Patrick? Be as open with me as I was with you.”

“I’m not usually so open but I feel like I can be with you,” Patrick tells him and David actually melts onto the floor, sitting with his back against the sofa, holding a pillow close to his chest. “I’ve never felt _right_ in my relationships. I’ve dated a few girls out in the real world and though I cared a lot about them all, I’ve never been in love. I felt like I could be myself completely but it still felt like I wasn’t being myself completely, does that make sense?”

David hugs the pillow tight. “It does,” He tells him. David thinks that Patrick might be closeted gay, though he might not even realize he’s gay. He’s dated girls in the past but never felt right with them, that sounds like a classic gay but doesn’t know he’s gay yet situation. He feels a tug in his heart for him. He never wanted to actually be an experiment for a straight guy – it’s happened in the past and it won’t happen again. They’re in this experiment for love not to try something new. However, he doesn’t feel that with Patrick. He feels like he’s genuinely confused about who he is and what he wants – that’s why he’s here.

“I’m hoping this experiment will help me figure out what I truly want,” Patrick says softly, honestly, echoing David’s thoughts.

“You will,” David says softly, encouragingly. 

Patrick exhales and it sounds like a small laugh – it sounds like he’s smiling. “So tell me more about you, David. I want to know everything.”

That makes David nervous but in a good way. That statement would usually have David petrified because history would show that the more he revealed of himself, the less interested people got. Patrick feels different to David, he doesn’t know why, it’s just this strong tug in the pit of his stomach telling him this one – this one might be the one. 

PATRICK

He didn’t think he could have ever made this type of connection with another man but here he is talking to David and he hasn’t stopped smiling the entire time. After David told him so honestly how past relationships of his had gone and what brought him here, he couldn’t get enough. He needs to know everything about David. 

“So tell me more about you, David. I want to know everything,” He says with a small smile. David’s quiet for a moment and he thinks he might have frightened him so he asks, “Are you still there?”

“I’m here, sorry. I – um, where should I start?” David asks. Patrick could hear it in his voice, he’s nervous. He doesn’t want David to be nervous with him – well, maybe only the good kind of nervous. 

“You said you don’t see your family often, why’s that?” Patrick asks. He wants to get to know David more intimately – that is the point of this experiment, plus there’s just something about him that tugs at him deep inside the pit of his stomach like this primal need to know more of him.

“My parents, um so they work a lot so they’ve always kind of been absent from my life. I mean, they care about us, I know they do, it’s just that presence I would have liked growing up wasn’t there. And my sister… she’s a pain in the ass but I wouldn’t trade her for anything. She’s always getting into crazy situations that I’m constantly bailing her out of. We’ve never been a very close family but there’s not anything I wouldn’t do for them. They’re the only family I’ve got…” David says honestly. It makes Patrick sad because he’s so close to his family. He doesn’t have siblings but he’s very close to his parents and his extended family – cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. He feels sad for David’s upbringing but he can tell that it’s made him who he is today and so far, Patrick really likes who David is. David’s voice comes through, “I hope I didn’t scare you away with how sad my family life is.”

“No, you didn’t, sorry I just got stuck in thoughts about my own family,” Patrick tells him the truth – well, half-truth. He doesn’t want David to think he pitied his life or anything.

“I hope your upbringing was better than mine. My family has literally forgotten my birthday before,” David tells him with a forced laugh. 

“Can’t say mine have ever forgotten my birthday, um, we’re pretty close, I have a big extended family,” Patrick tells him. 

“How was that growing up?” David asks.

“Hectic but fun, I have a lot of cousins so I always had good parties. But um,” Patrick stops himself; he doesn’t want to make David feel bad. “When’s your birthday?”

He hears David laugh lowly, he likes the sound of it. “July 2nd, you?” David asks.

“June 22nd, we’re very close in birthdays,” Patrick tells him, smiling even though he knows David can’t see him.

“Does that mean you’ll never forget my birthday?” David asks teasingly.

Patrick smiles at that. He can hear that David’s teasing but he can also hear an underlying - something, he’s not sure what. Maybe hope? “Never,” Patrick promises. 

They talk about their jobs - David tells him that he owns his own art gallery. Patrick tells him that he works as a business manager for a small company. 

Patrick finds out that David is very artistic and creative, that he loves to draw and he’s very picky with the art he displays in his gallery. He tells him that he’s helped planned birthday parties, weddings, and all sorts of events - even an ex girlfriends intervention in only an hour. Patrick is completely fascinated by David. He has so many layers that he just wants to keep peeling back and get to know. David opens up and tells him that he doesn’t have any real friends and he’s been really lonely the last few months before coming to this experiment.

“I can’t believe I just said that,” David says right after. 

“I’m glad that you did, I like how open you are, I feel like I can be my complete self around you,” Patrick tells him honestly. “Is that - sorry is that too fast?” He asks realizing they’ve only just begun talking, it’s night one, and he already feels so comfortable with David.

“No, I- I’m glad. I like that you feel like you can be yourself and be open with me. I’ve never been this open with anyone before, so I feel the same way,” David tells him and Patrick gets this big goofy grin on his face. He feels these butterflies in his stomach, he feels light and really happy.

“Thank you for opening up to me tonight, and for making me feel free to be who I am,” Patrick says. 

David’s quiet for a moment but when he does speak he sounds happy like he’s smiling, “Thank you, Patrick.”

“I wish we could keep talking but I feel like I need to log off for the night and think about everything. It’s been a crazy day,” Patrick tells him with a small laugh.

David laughs, it’s a great laugh. “I know what you mean.”

“Can we talk tomorrow?” Patrick asks hopeful.

“Mhm,” David mumbles softly. “We can talk whenever you’d like.”

“Goodnight, David,” Patrick says with a smile.

“Goodnight, Patrick,” David says back before exiting the chat. 

Patrick takes a deep breath and when he releases it, he can’t help but laugh. He feels really good. He’s never felt this good before. Patrick logs out for the night before anyone else can talk to him. He knows he doesn’t have it in him to talk to anyone else today. Patrick goes to the washroom; he takes his time getting himself ready for bed. When he comes out he goes outside to think. It’s a warm summer night and the light breeze is helping focus Patrick and think about the conversations he had tonight but David is consuming his mind. He also really liked Rachel. He didn’t know if he would like even one person in this and here he is with two people that he’s genuinely connected with. One of whom he never thought he would connect with let alone connect with so strongly. 

He lets the summer night air clear his mind before heading inside and into bed. As he lies awake, not able to stop his mind for a moment to fall asleep, he hopes that day two of the experiment will bring him some more clarity and peace of mind. 


	2. Day 2 of Experiment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patrick has some big revelations on day 2 of the experiment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to those who commented on the first chapter and are patiently waiting for me to update. This second chapter took me longer to write than I thought - was not having a great week creatively. I hope you enjoy this chapter and thank you for being on this journey with me! 💖

PATRICK

Patrick wakes up early - too early. He had a pretty restless sleep. It has nothing to do with being in a new place but everything to do with his newfound feelings for a man. He had a feeling before entering the experiment that he might not be as straight as he’s told himself he is. Patrick’s thirty years old and has only dated a handful of girls, all of which didn’t last long or go well at all. The issues in the relationships were always the same, the girls felt like Patrick wasn’t interested in them physically or sexually, they felt like they were just friends and not boyfriend and girlfriend, or they barely even saw him. Patrick’s been single for the past three years and in that time has really tried to understand himself better and why his past relationships with these girls never worked out. He came to the conclusion that he just hasn’t met ‘the right girl’ yet. That was until he started talking to David in the experiment. Now his conclusion is that he might not be as heterosexual as he once thought. He knew he had problems with his ex-girlfriends in the bedroom – not being able to stay hard, not being able to finish, and not being able to properly please his partner, things like that. He always thought that maybe he just wasn’t a sexual person or maybe he needed to have a deep, emotional connection with his partner to enjoy sex. David has made him realize that maybe it’s because he doesn’t want sex with women at all. It’s crazy to think about because he’s only spoken to David once and he’s never even seen him. How can he truly know if he’s not straight? He knows that the feelings he’s been having since speaking to David the night before are real because they made him actually _feel_. He felt right for the first time ever and he needs to explore this connection with David even further to see if it actually is real.

There’s no one online just yet so Patrick decides to work out before showering and having some breakfast. 

DAVID

Last night was insane. He can’t believe he made a connection with someone in the first day. David reaches for his notebook on his bedside table where he wrote things down about each person he spoke to yesterday. He flips right to Patrick and his notes underneath his name.

_Patrick_

  * _Nice voice – seriously NICE voice_
  * _Great laugh_
  * _Straight to the point, take charge kind of guy_
  * _Funny / teasing – I like it_
  * _Smart_
  * _Kind_
  * _Only child – big extended family_
  * _Honest_
  * _June 22 birthday – we’re both cancers, too emotional to be together or perfect?_
  * _Never been with a man_
  * _Gives me butterflies – first time ever_
  * _Makes me feel like I can be open and honest about my past and who I am_



He smiles as he looks at the little list he made last night. David definitely plans to write more to this today. 

David puts his notebook down and stretches in bed before getting up. He brings his clothes with him to the washroom and gets himself ready for the day. After that he makes some coffee and a bagel before sitting down at the small table in the kitchen area with his notebook and pen ready as well.

“Please log me into the chat,” David says out loud. The screen in the kitchen turns on and he sees that mostly everyone is logged on for the day. “Hmm…” David contemplates. “Who do I want to chat with first?” There are some people he hasn't spoken to yet so he may as well start with one of them to see if there’s an initial spark or not. Though, he does want to speak with Patrick more. Stevie too, they hit it off really well. He doesn’t have much time to think about it because he gets an incoming request.

_Jake wants to start a chat with you_

Jake is one he hasn’t spoken to yet so he happily accepts the request.

“Hello?” David says once he answers.

“David, hi,” Jake says which kind of throws David off. _Who speaks that way? He does have a nice voice though_. David marks that down in his notes under ‘Jake’.

“Hi, Jake, how are you this morning?” David asks politely, not sure where else to start.

“I’m great, was up pretty early to get a workout in before starting this all up again. Have you made any great connections so far?” Jake asks. 

David decides to be honest. He says, “A couple, how about you?”

“Not so much. This is actually a lot harder than I anticipated,” Jake tells him.

 _He’s honest, I like that_. “Yeah, I’m not really used to people getting to know me for me so it’s been an adjustment for sure,” David tells him.

“Yeah, people just see my good looks and don’t really want to get to know me beyond the physical stuff,” Jake says.

David rolls his eyes. _He just_ had _to throw in that he’s good looking, ugh_. “Seems like we’re on the same page,” David tells him, rolling his eyes again at his own words. 

“So what’s your type? Who do you usually go for?” Jake asks. 

“I’m pretty open to anyone but this experiment isn’t about what my type is or isn’t, now is it?” David asks.

“That is true, so what would you like to know?” Jake asks.

David can’t help but roll his eyes again. Jake is totally vain. David asks him about his job just to say he asked something but he’s hoping he can get out of this conversation soon. 

PATRICK

The morning went by decently enough, he spoke to a couple of other guys just to see if he’s possibly more interested in men than women and he’s found that he had very good conversations but nothing made him feel like he did when he spoke to David. 

He goes back to the main screen of every person’s name and sees David is free to chat so he requests to chat with him.

“Hi, Patrick,” David’s voice comes through after accepting the call.

Patrick grins immediately hearing his voice. “Hi, David.”

“How are you today?” David asks him.

“I’m good, been waiting to talk to you again,” Patrick tells him honestly. He knows David likes that he’s straight forward and he knows he can be open with David, that he can be himself.

“That is a really lovely thing to say,” David says and Patrick can tell he’s smiling, he doesn’t know how, maybe it’s how his voice sounds, but he knows. 

“And I’m so glad to be talking to you again too, Patrick because I think we really hit it off yesterday,” Patrick can’t help but tease.

It works well because he hears David try to stifle a laugh. He says, “Mm, a bold claim.”

Patrick chuckles. “I did have a great time talking to you yesterday. I - can I be honest with you?” He asks.

“Please, I prefer that you always be honest,” David says. Patrick can’t help but think about David and past relationships, was honesty an issue for him or for his partners? He needs to ask him about his past relationships, about certain things - they spoke very briefly about that like the general why it didn’t work out in the past. 

“I’ve been up since five, could not sleep. I kept thinking about our talk last night,” Patrick tells him.

“Regrets?” David asks immediately.

“What?” Patrick is taken aback. “No, no, definitely no regrets. I feel like a weight has been lifted off of me,” He says honestly but also to reassure David that he has absolutely no regrets.

David releases a breath, he can hear it. “I’m glad to hear that, Patrick,” David tells him. “I also haven’t been able to stop thinking about last night.”

“Yeah?” Patrick asks, a small smile forming on his lips, he can feel a blush creeping up his neck. 

David chuckles lightly. He says softly, “Yeah.”

“Do you mind if I ask you something about your past relationships?” Patrick asks him, needing to get into this further. They don’t have so much time in this and he needs to dive deep into these conversations, but also, he wants to dive deep into David and know everything about him. 

“Um, sure, go ahead,” David tells him.

“Earlier, you said that you would prefer it that I am always honest. Was honesty an issue for you in past relationships?” Patrick asks.

David’s quiet for a moment before saying, “Yeah it was, um, you say past relationships but to be honest, the longest relationship I was in lasted four months only if you count the month that he was seeing other people. Every other relationship can barely even be called a relationship. No one has wanted to stick around so long or even get to know me enough to stay. I’m hoping my lack of any actual serious relationship doesn’t ruin my chances with you…”

Patrick smiles at that. He gets this tug inside like there’s this need to hurt anyone who’s ever hurt David and made him feel bad about himself. “Absolutely not,” Patrick tells him. “It does make me want to hurt these people for not giving you that chance and for hurting you but it’s brought you here and I’m pretty fucking happy to be getting to know you.” 

“Thank you, Patrick,” David says and Patrick thinks this is definitely the biggest smile David has had since talking to him. 

“If it helps, I’ve been in the closet for thirty years and all my relationships with women have been horrible and did not last long either so we’re in similar boats,” Patrick tells him. David laughs and that makes him even happier than he already is. “There it is,” Patrick says softly.

“Hmm? There’s what?” David asks him.

“Your laugh,” Patrick tells him. “I really like it.”

David takes a sharp intake of breath and before he speaks he clears his throat. “Um so tell me more about you, Patrick. What do you like to do for fun?”

Patrick smiles. He tells David about how he likes to hike and be outdoors, he enjoys reading, and doing spreadsheets - David teases him about that making Patrick laugh and not mind being called a dork because David laughs and Patrick just can’t stop smiling. Patrick asks more about David’s drawings, he really likes how passionate David is when he talks about it. He tells him that he really likes to draw portraits but more candidly, not posed photos. 

“Ah so you won’t draw me like one of your French girls?” Patrick teases.

David coughs. “That was a bad moment to take a drink,” He says making Patrick laugh. David’s voice drops a little as he says, “I would draw you however you’d let me, Patrick.”

Patrick swallows around a lump that formed in his throat. His dick _very_ interested in what David just said as he hardens a bit, glad he’s in sweatpants or else he’s sure it would press hard against the zipper. “Sorry that was too far,” David says when Patrick hasn’t said anything.

“No, sorry, it just - um, affected me in a way that’s pretty new to me,” Patrick tells him honestly, his face reddening even though David can’t see him.

“Now that just affected me,” David tells him. “Knowing that what I said did something for you - I just, this whole not being able to see you thing is starting to really be difficult especially since I so badly want to touch you. I mean not like that - well, yeah like that but that’s not how I meant it -” 

Patrick laughs, he can’t help it. David rambles when he’s nervous and it’s really cute. “It’s okay, David. I know what you mean, I feel that too.”

David lets out a breath of relief. “I’m hungry so I’m going to make some lunch,” He tells him.

“Okay, David,” Patrick says

“Promise we can talk again today?” David asks him softly.

“Promise,” Patrick tells him.

After a small beat the chat disconnects. Patrick smiles to himself. “I like David, a lot,” He says out loud and it makes a small nervous laugh escape his throat. He feels giddy, it’s weird. He’s never liked someone so much and definitely not so quickly. 

_Rachel wants to start a chat with you_

Rachel. She’s someone else Patrick really connected to quickly when they spoke yesterday. He feels high on David so he doesn’t really want to chat but he feels bad so he accepts the chat.

“Hi Rachel,” Patrick says when the chat connects.

“Hi, Patrick, how are you?” She asks him.

He smiles thinking about David. “I’m great, how about you?” He asks.

“I’m good, I was thinking a lot about our talk yesterday. I feel a connection to you and would like to know more about you,” She says in her sweet, soft voice.

“I’d like that,” He tells her honestly. He also feels a connection to her but it’s not strong like how he feels to David. “What would you like to know?”

They talk easily, he feels very comfortable talking to Rachel but just like every other girl he has dated, he does not feel that spark. That spark has only been felt when he talks to David. 

He knows he promised David another talk today but he’s really going through some feelings right now. He won’t break his promise so later that night he starts a chat with David.

“Hi again,” David says when the chat connects.

Patrick smiles hearing his voice. “Hi, David. I know I promised another talk today but I’m going through a lot of different feelings for the first time and normally I would hike them out to really grasp and understand what I am feeling but I can’t exactly do that here so I’m going to be logging off for the day and gonna sit outside on my balcony. I really was looking forward to talking again and I’m sorry for breaking that promise I made you. I’m hoping we can talk tomorrow,” He tells him.

David smiles he hears it in his voice, “I’m glad you came on to tell me this and I completely understand, take the time you need. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

“Thank you, David,” Patrick says with a soft smile, hoping David hears his smiles in his voice like he can hear his.

“Goodnight, Patrick,” David says softly.

“Goodnight, David,” Patrick mimics him. The chat ends so Patrick logs off and heads out to his balcony. 

Much like the night before, Patrick spends his night thinking about his conversations with David. He thought that after connecting with David that he might be bisexual because he also had great conversations with Rachel, however after today and how strongly he feels for David he’s realizing he’s gay. He can feel this deep connection to Rachel but it’s nothing even close to how David makes him feel. He’s never felt so completely free in his life and with David, that’s how he feels. He feels like he can truly be himself and he won’t be judged or laughed at, that David will have a compassionate ear to him. He’s also never felt so physically attracted to anyone before and he’s never even seen David. He doesn’t care about that though he’s realizing because he is so attracted to who David is already and just the way he speaks and the things he says to him, he’s completely attracted to David’s soul and personality. He makes him laugh, he can tease him just as much as he can take the teasing, he’s witty and sarcastic, he’s intelligent and creative, he has the most beautiful voice Patrick has ever heard.

Patrick thinks that he could be all in this with David and he’s hoping that he feels the same way.


	3. Day 3 of Experiment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patrick makes a big revelation about himself. David voices some of his concerns to Stevie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to those who continue to comment and tell me how much they're enjoying this AU so far, means so much to me! Here is the next chapter. I will try to get chapter 4 up on time but I will be out of town on the weekend so it might not be possible, if it can't be posted on time it will be posted later in the week. Thank you so much, hope you enjoy this chapter! 💖

DAVID

David’s a little sad he didn’t get to speak with Patrick more last night but he’s really happy that Patrick still came on to tell him that he can’t talk. Most people - okay, maybe every person he’s been with wouldn’t ever do something as sweet as that. 

David decides to start a chat with Stevie. He’s really connected to her in a friendship kind of way – they’re very similar and he can really see them being friends outside of this. And he kind of needs to talk to her about Patrick.

“Hey,” Stevie says when she accepts the chat. “You’re up early, it’s before ten.”

David smiles. “It’s a normal time to be up,” He says, not believing his words. He hears her scoff.

“Not for you. What was it you said, something about not being up before ten am?” Stevie asks.

David rolls his eyes at her but smiles because she remembered something they spoke about. “I guess I couldn’t sleep. It’s not a big deal,” He tells her.

“Would this have to do with _Patrick_?” Stevie asks, emphasizing his name.

David’s mouth twists to the side and he lets out a small, “Maybe…”

“I’ve spoken to him a couple times. He seems like a very genuine guy,” She tells him.

David’s shocked so he asks, “What – um, what did you guys talk about?”

“David, is that jealousy I hear in your voice?” She teases.

“No,” He clears his throat. “No, I was just asking,” He says.

“Mhm, sure,” Stevie says not believing a word. “We’ve just spoken about what we do for work, hobbies, things that I’ve spoken about with everyone. You know this is an experiment to talk to everyone and see if you can make a connection with someone.”

“Yeah, I know, I’ve connected with Patrick so I have no need to talk with anyone else. Well, apart from you,” David tells her.

“And why’s that?” Stevie goads him.

“I think you might be my best friend,” He tells her honestly.

Stevie scoffs. “Might be?” David laughs and he hears her laugh too. She adds, “So Patrick huh?”

David just about melts thinking about Patrick. “I didn’t think I would connect with anyone. No one’s ever actually liked me for who I am before, it’s always been about my status, you know? My money, where I can take them, what I can do for them or to them,” He tells her.

“But not with Patrick?” She asks even though she knows the answer.

“No, he doesn’t know what I look like or what my last name is. He wants to get to know me for who I am and he likes me for that. It’s - I never thought this could happen to me,” David confides in her. 

“We’ve spoken about as much as you’ve spoken to Patrick and I can tell you honestly that you’re a good guy, David. You’ve been burned too many times in your past, so have I, but you’re kind, generous, compassionate. Patrick would be very lucky to end this experiment engaged to you,” Stevie tells him.

David feels tears spring to his eyes and lets them fall since he is alone and she can’t see the effect her words have on him. He clears his throat before saying, “Thank you, Stevie. Okay, I wanna know about you, who have you been connecting with?”

“I’ve spoken to Leilani a lot, she’s really sweet and makes me feel good, which is weird,” Stevie tells him.

David laughs. “I know what you mean,” He says. 

“I also have been speaking to Cameron. He’s really sweet too and he can keep up with my teasing and stuff like we kind of talk the same way me and you talk but with some flirting and things like that. I like that he can keep up with me,” Stevie says.

“Two love connections? Look at you go,” David teases.

“You can’t see this but I’m flipping you off right now,” Stevie says making David laugh. “So what’s going on with Patrick? Did you guys talk more last night?”

“Only for a minute, he came on to tell me he can’t talk like he promised we would because he has a lot of feelings he needs to think through and needs some time to himself to figure that out,” David informs her.

“And what do you think about that?” Stevie asks.

“I think he’s very sweet to come on to tell me he can’t talk, no one’s ever been that thoughtful to me before. I just - him having to sort through his feelings makes me a bit anxious and like spirally? I don’t know what he means by that. I know that he’s never been with a man before and this is all new to him but does that mean he’s made a connection with a woman and he’s unsure if he’s even interested in me at all. I-”

Stevie cuts him off, “Okay, David, you’re definitely spiralling. Listen to me. Like I said earlier, we have to talk to everyone to see who we really are connecting to. I’m sure he’s spoken to everyone - or mostly everyone that is apart of this experiment, so it is possible that he has connected to someone else but-”

“Okay, that’s not helping,” David cuts her off.

“Listen,” She says. “From what you’ve told me, you two have really connected. You feel that pull deep inside of you and he makes you happy and like you can be yourself, which you’ve never felt like that with anyone else you’ve been with. Don’t rule out everything you’ve talked about with him and the depth of your connection because you’re afraid he _might_ have connected to a woman.”

David takes a deep breath and tries to really absorb Stevie’s words. “You’re right,” He tells her. 

“I think you should talk to him today and ask him these things. We have a week left in this experiment and that’s it. If you’re not engaged you will not see him outside of this, so just take your shot and ask him everything you're concerned about. What’s there to lose?” 

He knows she’s right but it gives him a lot of anxiety to be that open with how he’s feeling. He’s never opened up to a partner before - told them how he felt, voiced his concerns. He tried that once with a guy he was seeing that he thought he could maybe be in love with and he told him that he makes it hard to love him because he is too intense. He’s never opened up to a partner again. 

PATRICK

Patrick wakes up feeling the best he has since walking into this experiment. He feels light, more at ease. Taking the time to himself last night really helped his mental well being. Patrick, being a numbers guy, a spreadsheet guy, just basically a business guy, decided to make a spreadsheet as best he could in his notebook since they don’t have computers, to try and figure out how he’s really feeling. In the end, that didn’t work and he tossed the notebook against the wall and went to sit outside. In the warm night air, Patrick really reflected inward and he knows without a doubt that he likes David. Nobody has ever made Patrick feel the way he feels when he speaks with David. Even just thinking about David, Patrick gets this pull deep in the pit of his stomach that makes him smile and feels like light is just bursting through him. He likes Rachel but he thinks that he likes her as a friend, like all his ex-girlfriends. Patrick finally says the words out loud to himself in the night air, all alone, “I’m gay,” and he just starts laughing. “I’m gay!” He says a bit louder and can’t help but laugh. He’s never felt so free before.

He sits down on the sofa and starts a chat with Rachel.

“Hi, Patrick,” Rachel’s soft voice comes through.

“Hi, Rachel,” Patrick says, a smile on his face. “I’d like to talk to you about something.”

“Uh oh,” Rachel says. “That’s never a good sign.”

Patrick feels bad instantly but he knows he needs to tell her how he truly feels. “I’m sorry, I just - I’ve developed a strong connection to someone else and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t tell you the truth. I think you’re such an amazing, sweet, kind, funny, smart woman and whoever you end up with will be the luckiest man in the world.”

“Thank you, Patrick, that’s very kind of you to say and I’m glad you’ve made a deep connection with someone,” She tells him. “Do you mind if I ask who it’s with?”

“David,” He tells her honestly.

“Wow, I wasn’t expecting that,” She says with a small laugh. 

“Me neither,” He tells her honestly, a small laugh escaping him. “This experiment - well, mainly David, has made me realize who I truly am. I’m gay, and I think I could be falling in love with a man I’ve never seen before.”

“I’m so proud of you, Patrick,” She tells him and he can hear a small sniffle on her end. “That makes me really happy to hear. I want the best for you, you’re an incredible man and you deserve happiness.”

“Thank you, Rachel. I hope we can still chat, I really do like you, and enjoy getting to know you,” Patrick tells her.

“I’d like that,” She says softly. “Can I tell you something?”

“Anything,” He says.

“I’ve also made a connection with someone else, um, somebody I wasn’t expecting to connect with also,” She says ominously.

“That’s great, Rach, with who? If you don’t mind me asking,” He says.

“Twyla,” She says. “I’m pretty sure I’m bisexual and like you, she’s made me realize it. She’s the sweetest girl I’ve ever spoken to and she makes me feel fuzzy inside.”

Patrick grins. “I’m so happy for you,” He tells her. “Look at us making deep connections with people we never thought we could connect so strongly with.”

“Who would have thought?” She says and they both laugh. 

They spend a bit of time talking about their new connections before they end the chat. Patrick sees that David is free to chat so he requests a call with him.

“Hi,” David says softly when the chat connects.

He loves the way David says hi. Patrick smiles and says, “Hi.”

“So I don’t know how else to do this but to just ask, um, are you - did you make any deep connections with other people here? I know that’s part of the experiment to like talk to everyone and it’s probably likely that you did connect to other people or women, um I just need to know how in this with me you are,” David rambles it all out.

Patrick smiles again, he can’t help it when he’s talking to David. Also, the fact that David is jealous that he might be connecting with other people makes him feel warm and fuzzy inside. “I’m going to be honest with you, David, I did connect to Rachel before ever talking to you but the more you and I have spoken the more I realize that my connection to her was only on a friendship level. I really like you, David, you’re the only one I want to spend my time getting to know on a deeper, more emotional level,” Patrick tells him honestly. “I’ve never felt more free than I have when I speak to you. You’ve helped me to realize that I’m gay and that’s why none of my previous relationships have worked out.”

David’s quiet for a long moment before he says, “I’m really happy you were able to figure out who you truly are, I’m proud of you, Patrick. And I really like you too, if that wasn’t obvious already.” He laughs softly, making Patrick grin.

“It wasn’t so I’m glad you told me. I wasn’t sure either if you were connecting to other people like we’ve been connecting so I’ve been a little anxious too,” Patrick tells him.

“Like you, I’ve connected to someone on a friendship level. Stevie is my new best friend and I’m really glad I’ve also met her because she’s helping me stay sane and is there for me when I need to talk about you,” David teases.

“Oh yeah? You - um, you’ve been talking about me?” Patrick asks shyly, he feels a blush creep up his neck.

“Mhmm…” David hums. “I’m not going to tell you what we’ve spoken about, so don’t even try it.”

Patrick laughs. “Fair enough,” He says. “How about we play a game to get to know each other more?”

“What kind of game?” David asks.

“We could just ask each other questions and we’ll both have to answer it,” Patrick suggests.

“Okay, that’s not really a game but sure,” David teases. “What’s your favorite color?”

“Blue,” Patrick says quickly.

“Black,” David answers.

“That’s not a color, David,” Patrick says with a small laugh.

“I only wear black and white clothing, sometimes color but it’s not often,” David tells him, “So yes, it is a color.”

“What’s your favorite song?” Patrick asks.

“The best by Tina Turner. The lyrics,” David says and pauses for a moment. “I want to be loved like that one day.”

Patrick feels that tug deep inside him at David’s words. He knows that song, of course he does, and he knows that David is definitely worthy of that kind of love and he hopes he can be the one to deserve to give that love to him. “That’s a beautiful song. I’m not sure I have one favorite, my music taste is very much all over the place.”

“Vague but okay, do you play any instruments?” David asks. 

“I do, I play the guitar and piano,” Patrick tells him.

“I took piano lessons for eight years and I’ve lost it all, except I can still play a few notes,” David says. 

Patrick chuckles. “Let’s go a little deeper now, do you want kids?” He asks. 

“Wow, um, I don’t know if this will be a deal breaker or not but no? I never saw myself even getting married so the thought of having kids never even crossed my mind. I don’t really like kids to be honest,” David tells him. “Um, what about you?”

“I always pictured myself having kids but that’s when I also pictured myself getting married to a woman and doing everything I thought I had to do. I don’t know if I want kids,” Patrick tells him truthfully. 

“Does that mean it’s not a dealbreaker that I for sure don’t want kids?” David asks tentatively. 

Patrick smiles. “Definitely not, I really like you, David, and if this works out the way I hope it does then I know that my life will be complete because I have you in it.”

“That was a very lovely thing to say, Patrick,” David says softly.

“I really wish I could hold you right now,” Patrick tells him. “Pull you into my arms and hold your hand.”

“I’d like that very much,” David says softly, barely above a whisper. “I wear four silver rings on my right hand, I hope you wouldn’t mind them.”

“I’m trying to picture it, can you describe them to me?” Patrick asks.

“Well, they’re pretty thick silver bands that I wear either one on each finger, sometimes I switch it up and put two on my index finger and two on my ring finger, depending on my mood,” David tells him.

“How are they on you today?” Patrick asks.

“I have two on my ring finger and two on my index finger,” David tells him.

“I like the idea of holding your hand and feeling the cool touch of the rings on my hand,” Patrick says as flirtatiously as he can. 

“Or on other parts of your body…” David says in a deep voice. 

Patrick swallows hard, he feels a tightness in his pants at David’s words. “Yeah, _fuck_ , um, that sounds really nice,” Patrick says.

David chuckles softly. “Patrick, did I make you think some naughty thoughts?” He teases.

“Yes,” Patrick says simply, honestly.

He hears David inhale sharply. He says, “Tell me.”

“I thought about your hands on my waist slipping up under my shirt so I can feel the cool touch of your rings against my hot skin,” Patrick tells him as he puts his hand to his crotch, pressing down to ease the friction as his erection presses hard against his jeans. 

“Mmm, fuck, I’m getting too into the idea of doing naughty things with you and there are cameras everywhere so maybe we should move past this conversation or else the people watching are going to get more than they want to see,” David tells him making Patrick harder knowing that David is also really into this. 

Patrick laughs lowly, “Yeah, you’re right. Okay, what’s your favorite food?”

They continue to ask each other some questions, mostly about their favorite things like food, shows, movies, singers, actors, weather, animal, etc. They end their chat with a promise to talk before bed. 

_David wants to start a chat with you._

“All tucked in?” Patrick asks when the chat connects.

“Yes, very comfy,” David says softly on the other end.

Patrick smiles. “Me too, though I’d rather have you next to me,” He tells him.

“Mmm, are you flirting with me, Patrick?” David teases.

“I’m trying to,” Patrick says with a small laugh. 

David laughs lowly, “I wish I was next to you too,” He says. 

“Are you the big spoon or little spoon?” Patrick asks.

“I’ve never cuddled with anyone before,” David tells him honestly.

Patrick feels sad about that but he says, “If we were cuddling right now, would you rather be held by me or hold me?”

“I’d like to be held by you,” David says softly. 

Patrick grabs his other pillow and holds it in his arms. “Okay, I’ve got my pillow-David in my arms, holding you tight to my body,” He tells him.

David chuckles. “You’re cute,” He says. “I’m definitely going to dream of being held by you.”

“I’m definitely going to dream of holding you,” Patrick says softly.

“Will you stay on until I fall asleep?” David asks sleepily, he can hear it in his voice that it won’t be long until that happens.

“I’d do anything for you, David,” Patrick says softly. It shocks him how true those words are. In the short time they’ve spoken he can confidently say that he would do anything for David. 

“Mmm,” David hums. “Goodnight, Patrick.”

“Goodnight, David,” Patrick whispers. 

He stays on the chat, listening to David’s breathing start to even out. Patrick knows he’s fallen asleep but he doesn’t want to end the chat just yet so he continues to listen to him until sleep starts to pull at him. He ends the chat and lets sleep pull him in where he dreams about the pillow in his arms no longer being a pillow, and that he’s holding David close to his body.


	4. Day 4 of Experiment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David gets a surprise gift from Patrick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everybody, I ended up being able to write this chapter this weekend since my trip got canceled due to covid. I hope everybody is staying safe! Here is the next chapter, hope you enjoy it ❤

DAVID

The day has been dragging on a bit. He knows it’s because he hasn’t seen Patrick online yet and it’s already almost time when David would make himself some dinner. He wonders what’s going on with him. They had a great talk yesterday, finally confirming with each other that they are in this experiment now to get to know each other. They even fell asleep together last night, obviously in their separate lofts but still, it makes David’s heart feel full. David’s heart has never felt like this before like it’s too big to fit in his chest. It beats fast and hard in his chest when he thinks about or talks to or about Patrick. He’s not completely sure if this is what love feels like because he’s never been in love before. True love. He’s never felt anything remotely close to what he feels for Patrick and he has yet to see the man in the flesh. It makes him laugh to think that he hasn’t even seen what Patrick looks like yet he knows without a doubt that he’s the most beautiful human being he’s ever met because of who he is inside. He radiates love, support, and warmth. He makes David laugh and smile. He gives David butterflies and this tightening feeling deep in the pit of his stomach and in his chest. It’s not a bad tightening feeling - it’s the best feeling he’s ever felt in his life. 

David’s dated many people in the past twenty or so years and nobody has ever made him feel this good. They all made him feel like he was damaged goods, that he was hard to love, that he’s too over the top or too dramatic, that he’s rude and sarcastic, that he can’t make his partner happy. He’s heard it all and he’s always felt like shit because of it. He started to believe it all because it was constantly the same thing partner after partner. How could you not believe it when it’s all you hear from somebody you’re dating? How will it not eat away at your self esteem and pull you deeper and deeper into depression about finding love or being happy?

David starts making some dinner, he decides on chili because it’s comforting and will satisfy him, it’ll take time and he seems to have a lot of it while he doesn’t speak to Patrick. He does talk to Stevie a couple times throughout the day when she isn’t actively wanting to deepen her connections with Cameron and Leilani. Other than Stevie he’s had no human interaction all day. He’s spoken aloud to himself and to those watching him for the experiment purposes. He’s taken a shower, did his full skin care routine, he even did a small workout. He picks up his book and continues where he left off as he eats his dinner at his little kitchen table. Once he’s cleaned his dish and put the leftovers away he goes to the sofa to get cozy and continue his book.

_Patrick wants to start a chat with you._

David squeals then covers his mouth even though he knows Patrick can’t hear him yet. He accepts the chat and says, “Oh hi.” He puts his bookmark in his book before putting it down next to him to focus his attention on Patrick.

“Hi,” Patrick’s sweet voice comes through. “Missed you today.”

David twists his mouth to the side, grin threatening to take over his face. “You weren’t on all day, what have you been up to?”

“I’ve missed you too, Patrick,” Patrick teases.

David chuckles lightly, rolling his eyes. “Mhm, yes, I missed you today, as well,” David says softly.

Patrick laughs. “I was working on something for you and didn’t want to be distracted by it,” He tells him.

“Mm and would I have been the distraction from your project?” David says flirtatiously.

“David, you are always the distraction, I would have just wanted to talk all day but then I couldn’t have prepared this for you,” Patrick says. 

David hears a few guitar chords and asks shocked, “Is that a guitar?”

“It is. We were allowed one thing from our lives to bring inside the experiment with us-” Patrick says.

“And you brought your guitar,” David finishes for him.

“I did… Do you want to hear what I have prepared for you?” Patrick asks tentatively. David can hear the worry in his voice, or maybe it’s nervousness.

“I’d love to,” David tells him. He knows Patrick can play, he’s told him, but he doesn’t know if he’s any good. He pushes his worries aside because either way, Patrick prepared him a song and that is the nicest thing anybody has ever done for him.

“Okay, um, so this song is for a very special someone in my life,” Patrick says like he’s presenting for a crowd and not just David in a whole other loft. Patrick chuckles lightly making David smile wide. “Okay,” He says softly, more to himself than anyone else.

David hears the first few chords and his hand moves to his mouth once again. _Oh my God!_

Patrick begins to sing the words of a song that has meant so much to David ever since the first time he heard them. The words of a song that made him believe that one day he would have a love like that. Even after years of self doubt and horrible relationship after the next, every time he would hear this song he thought to himself _I hope to be loved like that one day_.

_“I call you when I need you, my heart's on fire_

_You come to me, wild and wired_

_You come to me, give me everything I need_

_Give me a lifetime of promises and a world of dreams_

_Speak the language of love like you know what it means_

_And it can't be wrong_

_Take my heart and make it strong, babe_

_You're simply the best_

_Better than all the rest_

_Better than anyone_

_Anyone I ever met_

_And I'm stuck on your heart_

_I hang on every word you say_

_Tear us apart_

_Baby I would rather be dead_

_In your heart I see the start of every night and every day_

_In your eyes I get lost, I get washed away_

_Just as long I'm here in your arms I could be in no better place_

_You're simply the best_

_Better than all the rest_

_Better than anyone_

_Anyone I ever met_

_And I'm stuck on your heart_

_I hang on every word you say_

_Tear us apart_

_Baby, I would rather be dead_

_Each time you leave me I start losing control_

_You're walking away with my heart and my soul_

_I can feel you even when I'm alone_

_Oh, baby, don't let go_

_'Cause you're simply the best_

_Better than all the rest_

_Better than anyone_

_Anyone I ever met_

_And I'm stuck on your heart babe_

_I hang on every word you say_

_Tear us apart_

_Oh I would rather be dead_

_Ooh_

_Ooh_

_Ooh_

_Ooh_

_Oh you're the best”_

David listens as Patrick sings him the words he’s longed to hear and he can’t help the tears from spilling out, hand over his heart the entire time. If he wasn’t sure before what love felt like he does now. He sniffles and wipes the tears from his eyes. “That -” He starts to say but his voice breaks at the emotions he feels. He clears his throat and starts again, “That was beautiful, Patrick.”

David hears the same breath Patrick lets out, like a sigh of relief. Patrick says, “I’m happy you liked it and that I didn’t screw up your favorite song.”

David laughs lowly. “No, you definitely didn’t screw it up. You have an amazing voice. I could definitely get used to hearing you sing to me,” David says softly.

“I’ll sing to you anytime you want me to, David,” Patrick states. 

David smiles and wraps his arms around himself, wishing he could be in Patrick’s arms right now. “Could you keep singing to me now?”

“What would you like to hear?” Patrick asks him.

Without hesitation David says, “Whatever you want, I know it’ll be beautiful.”

Patrick lets out another breath, sort of like a small laugh. A happy laugh. He starts to play for him and David just sits there snuggled up on the sofa listening to the man he’s very much falling in love with sing to him.

PATRICK

Patrick couldn’t get David’s words out of his head _“The Best by Tina Turner. I want to be loved like that one day.”_ He knew he had to show David how much he truly means to him. When he woke up he spent the entire day figuring out the chords and the perfect melody to play this song on the acoustic guitar. When he was finally satisfied with how it sounded he went online and played it for David. He could hear how choked up David was after hearing the song, his voice broke and he told him it was beautiful. He told him that he wanted to hear him sing some more and that he could get used to this. He couldn’t be happier that he made David happy by singing him his favorite song. 

After a while of singing and playing guitar for David, Patrick puts his guitar against the sofa near his legs. 

“That was the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. Thank you, Patrick,” David tells him.

“You’re very welcome, David,” Patrick says back, smile on his face. “I’d like to fall asleep together again tonight if that’s something you’d like as well?”

“Yes, I’d like that very much,” David says. “Call you back in a few? Going to just get ready for bed.”

“Talk to you soon,” Patrick says before their chat disconnects. Patrick gets himself ready for bed - he uses the washroom, brushes his teeth, grabs a glass of water, closes the lights, and strips down to his boxers before getting into his bed.

_David wants to start a chat with you._

“Cozy in bed?” Patrick asks when the chat goes through. 

“As cozy as I can be without you next to me,” David tells him. His voice is so smooth and velvety - even more so at night or when he’s flirting with him.

“Don’t tease me like that, David,” Patrick says as he pulls his other pillow into his arms like he did the night before.

“Mmm but I like to tease, Patrick,” David continues to tease him. 

“And you’re really good at it,” Patrick says.

David laughs. “Fine, I’ll stop. It’s no fun when you don’t play along.”

Patrick smiles and holds the pillow a bit closer. He hears David yawn. “Tired?” He asks even though he knows the answer.

“Sort of but I’m not ready to end our chat just yet,” David tells him sweetly.

“We’re falling asleep together so that won’t happen anyway,” Patrick reassures him. 

“Patrick?” David asks after a few moments of silence.

“Yes, David?” 

“What’s your last name?”

Patrick smiles. They haven’t asked each other that because - well, Patrick doesn’t know why. Only a few of the women he spoke to asked but that was about it. He likes to think that David is asking now because he wants to know what it would sound like to take his last name. “Brewer,” He tells him. 

“Patrick Brewer. I like it,” David says softly.

“What’s yours?” Patrick asks. David’s silent, he doesn’t speak for a minute or so.

“Rose,” David finally says.

Patrick smiles. He knows he might scare David off but he just has to say it, “I’m falling in love with you, David Rose.” He hears the sharp inhale from David and he’s quiet for a moment. A long moment. Patrick quickly adds, “I’m sorry if that’s too soon for you to hear but it’s the truth and I wouldn’t forgive myself if I didn’t tell you how much you mean to me.”

“I’m falling in love with you too, Patrick Brewer,” David finally says with a small laugh as he exhales a large breath. 

“Thank you for being so open with me, I know that wasn’t easy for you,” Patrick tells him. David told him how he’s only said _I love you_ twice in his life, once to his parents and once at a Mariah Carey concert. They didn’t say those exact words yet but this feels like a huge moment for both of them.

“It was easier than I ever thought it would be. Patrick, before we spoke today I thought about how I feel about you and I wasn’t sure because I’ve never been in love before. After you sang the most beautiful song to me, those feelings I felt multiplied and became clearer to me,” David says honestly.

Patrick feels tears spring to his eyes, they’re happy tears. “I love you, David,” Patrick tells him. He knows without a doubt that he’s in love with a man he’s never met in person.

He hears David laugh and sniffle before saying, “I love you, Patrick.”

They both laugh and can hear that they are both crying happy tears. Patrick says, “I wish you were here with me, more than ever right now.”

“Me too,” David says softly. “Will you sing me to sleep?”

Patrick smiles. He starts to sing their song - yes, it is now their song. He sings it softly, slowly, making sure that David hears how much he means every word. 


	5. Day 5 of Experiment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He never even dreamed that he would make such a deep emotional connection with someone, let alone a man he’s never seen before. He feels proud of himself, accomplished even.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone commenting week to week, it means so much to me!! I hope everybody is staying safe and healthy! I hope everybody is taking this virus very seriously and social distancing and/or quarantining. If you can stay home, stay home. If you're like me, someone who cannot work from home (i work in a hospital) then please make sure you're staying clean and healthy for those around you as much as for yourself! I hope this fic is helping you all deal with some boredom you might have if you are quarantined or self-isolating. This chapter is short, I apologize for that, but you'll know why when you get to the end. I love you all, thank you again!! Enjoy 💕

DAVID

David wakes up feeling happy, like extremely happy. He can’t remember the last time he’s ever woken up feeling this way. He feels giddy - there’s butterflies fluttering in his stomach as he thinks about last night. Patrick told him that he’s in love with him and David said it back. He’s never said those three words to somebody that wasn’t his parents or Mariah Carey. He’s in love for the first time in his life and to a man he’s never seen in person. 

_Stevie wants to start a chat._

David answers the chat quickly and says, “Guess what!”

“Morning to you too,” Stevie says back. “What?”

“Good morning,” David tells her. “Patrick said he loves me last night.”

“Oh my God, David!” Stevie squeals, he can tell she’s genuinely excited for him. “Tell me everything!”

David explains to her what happened from the beginning - how Patrick sang him his favorite song, how he told him that he was falling in love and then said the words, how he sang to him as they fell asleep together. Stevie then asks, “Did you say it back?”

“I did…” David trails off, he can’t sit still on his bed, he’s literally vibrating with excited energy. 

“David, I’m so happy for you!” Stevie exclaims. 

David smiles and says softly, “Thank you.” He continues with, “It just feels so surreal, I’ve never been in love before and it finally happens for me but I’ve never even seen him before. It’s weird but I don’t even care that I’ve never seen him. He could be a troll and I’d still love him. He makes me really happy, Stevie.”

“I’m so happy that you’ve made such a deep, intimate, emotional connection with someone, David, you really deserve it,” Stevie tells him. 

“Enough about me, tell me more about your connections,” David says wiggling his eyebrows even though she can’t see. 

PATRICK

When Patrick started this experiment he figured that if anything, he would maybe figure out what has been going on with him and why none of his past relationships ever worked. He never even dreamed that he would make such a deep emotional connection with someone, let alone a man he’s never seen before. He feels proud of himself, accomplished even. He figured out why his past relationships with women failed, he made a deep connection with someone and has even fallen in love with someone he never thought he would fall for. Patrick knows that he doesn’t want to wait another minute let alone another five days before meeting David in person. He knows the time is right. 

Patrick sees David online and requests a chat with him.

“Morning,” David says when he answers the call.

“Morning sunshine, how are you?” Patrick asks, happy to hear David’s voice.

“I’m really good, you?” David asks.

“Amazing,” Patrick says.

“Oh yeah? And what about today has you feeling amazing?” David teases.

“You,” Patrick says simply. 

“I can’t wait to hold you, Patrick,” David tells him softly.

Patrick smiles. “I was thinking the same thing. Speaking of…” He trails off.

“Yes?” David asks hesitantly.

Patrick clears his throat and he can feel his heart beating out of his chest. He’s never felt more nervous in his entire life. “David, I started this experiment not knowing who I was or what I wanted out of life. After our first conversation, I started to realize who I truly am. You’ve helped me figure out who I am and what I want out of life. You make me feel right, David. For the first time in my life, I know what I want and that’s you. I can’t live another moment without you, to be near you, hold you, kiss you, to have you be the first thing I see when I wake up and the last when I go to bed. I know without a doubt, even though we’ve never seen each other in person, that you are the love of my life, David. Will you marry me?” He says fighting back tears that threaten to spill.

He hears a sob from David and a small laugh, then David says, “Yes, of course, I’ll marry you, Patrick!”

Patrick jumps up and lets a laugh-sob escape his throat. He hears the same from David. “I love you so much,” Patrick says.

“I love you too, so much,” David tells him. “I get to see you tomorrow.”

“I can’t wait,” Patrick tells him. 

When their tears of joy have subsided, they start to talk about what they want to do when they get to leave this experiment together tomorrow. 

_The next day_

David and Patrick are instructed to gather their belongings and head down to a specific room. They are in two different rooms and are instructed to stay there until told when to open the doors and meet for the first time in person.

Patrick is so nervous, he rubs his hands down his pants to try to get some of the sweat off of them. He takes long, calming breaths, trying to soothe his rapidly beating heart. He can’t stop smiling even through all of his nerves. He’s finally going to see David in person and get to hold him in his arms.

In the other room, David is also just as nervous as Patrick. He paces around the room unable to stay in one place for more than a few seconds. He tries to slow his rapidly beating heart by taking long breaths but it doesn’t seem to help as his nerves win over. He’s extremely excited to see Patrick for the first time but he can’t help how nervous he is. He just hopes it all goes well. 

They are finally instructed to open their doors and step out to meet their fiance. 

They step outside of their designated rooms and see each other for the first time. They smile at each other so big that their cheeks hurt. David covers his mouth with his hand to try to stop the sob that wants to escape when he first sees Patrick standing there in his blue button up shirt tucked into his tight jeans, a decent jacket over his shirt. He’s absolutely gorgeous and if he walks even faster to get to him then that’s his business.

Patrick walks faster to try to get to David when he sees him for the first time. He’s absolutely beautiful with his coiffed hair and big eyebrows, he’s wearing a black sweater with a white heart design on it with black jeans with small rips in the knees. He’s tall and he looks strong. 

They finally are within touching distance of each other and they just look at each other, grinning ear to ear. Patrick steps forward and brings his hand up to David’s cheek - he touches it softly, just grazing his fingers against the stubble on his cheek. David closes his eyes and leans into his touch. Patrick loves this feeling already, the touch of David’s stubble. It’s rough but also soft. He moves his hand down to his neck and his thumb grazes the underside of his jaw. David opens his eyes and their gazes meet. He says softly, “Patrick…” 

That voice. It’s him, it’s really him. Patrick leans forward and their lips meet for the first time. It’s everything Patrick could ever dream it could be. It’s soft yet purposeful, full of passion and love, yet calm and slow just like they need it to be. Patrick feels David’s hands come to touch his arms and move up to his shoulders and to the back of his neck. Patrick brings his other hand to David’s waist pulling him closer to him. David pulls back slowly from the kiss to look into his eyes before pressing his forehead against his. 

“I can’t believe this is real,” David says softly just above a whisper. 

“Believe it,” Patrick says as he pulls back to look at him. “You’re finally all mine,” He adds with a small smile.

David smirks and wraps his arms around Patrick’s shoulders. Patrick puts his hands on David’s hips like it’s an instinct to him. David’s hands move up and into Patrick’s short hair as he leans forward to kiss him again much like the first one they just shared. Patrick wraps his arms fully around David pulling him against him - feeling every part press closer to him. His hands move up David’s back and back down, feeling through the fabric of his sweater his strong back. 

David pulls back slightly to say, “I can get used to this.”

“You have all the time in the world,” Patrick tells him. He kisses him on the neck before hugging him close. He’s never fit so perfectly somewhere. He feels at home right here in David’s embrace, tucked into his neck, feeling David’s arms wrapped around him. “This feels right,” He tells him his thoughts.

“It’s perfect,” David says before pulling back slightly. “You ready to get out of here, fiance?”

Patrick grins. “Most definitely, fiance,” He says with a small smirk.

Patrick takes David’s hand and sees the four silver rings he had described to him. They look amazing on his big, strong but very soft hands. He intertwines their fingers and they head out of the experiment together as an engaged couple.


	6. Home in your arms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David and Patrick spend the day together outside of the experiment as a newly engaged couple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a longer chapter than any have been. Thank you so much to those commenting every week, I appreciate you all. I really hope you guys are enjoying this story and it's giving you the distraction needed from the outside world. I love you all, stay safe! Enjoy 💕

As they leave the building where they spent the past few days in an experiment to see if love truly is blind, David and Patrick walk hand in hand as fiancés. They get in an uber and go to Patrick’s place first. They take their things and head inside, David getting a glimpse into how Patrick lives outside of the experiment. It’s a cute apartment, big enough for Patrick with it’s one bedroom, one bathroom, living room, and kitchen. There is a small fireplace in the living room that David really likes. It’s decorated very minimally but it’s very clean and organized. 

David looks around at some of the framed pictures on the fireplace. “Are these your parents?” He asks turning slightly to see Patrick coming up behind him and wrapping his arms around him from behind. David instantly melts into the embrace, he could get used to this. 

“Yeah, that’s my mom, Marcy, and my dad, Clint,” Patrick tells him as they look at the picture of Patrick and his parents on what David assumes is Christmas morning because they are in their pajamas in the living room near their Christmas tree. “I’m going to have to call them soon, speaking of…” Patrick trails off, letting go of David. David turns to face him and Patrick says, “How do you want to let people know about us?” 

“Um, I’m not really sure? I’m still trying to process being back out in the real world, with you,” David tells him honestly. He puts his hands on his shoulders and squeezes them - he really likes them, they’re broad and strong. 

“How about we take today to just be with each other and tomorrow we can figure out what we want to do?” Patrick suggests. He puts his hands on David’s waist and steps closer into his space. 

“Mmm, I like that idea,” David says, his arms wrapping around Patrick’s neck as he meets him halfway for a kiss. It’s soft and sweet but turns a bit heated as they press fully against each other. Patrick’s hands roam up and down David’s back and back to his waist, toying with the hem of his sweater, wanting so badly to slip his hands underneath and feel his skin. 

David’s hand moves up into the short hairs at the back of Patrick’s neck, scraping back down lightly making Patrick moan into the kiss, parting his lips. David slips his tongue inside Patrick’s mouth and teases his tongue against his. Patrick is such a good kisser, David doesn’t ever want this to end but he feels himself getting really hard and it’s definitely too soon to come in his pants just from the bare minimum physical contact with Patrick. 

David pulls back slightly from the kiss just enough so their mouths are no longer pressed together. They take a moment to breathe before pulling away from each other. Patrick looks around his apartment anxiously and looks back at David, he asks, “Are you hungry? I don’t think I left much food here before leaving but I could order us a pizza or something?”

“I will never say no to pizza,” David says with a small smile. 

Patrick chuckles. “Okay, great. Um, I’ll order now, make yourself at home,” He tells him.

David watches as Patrick calls for delivery and then looks around the apartment again. He walks towards the bedroom and looks inside. It’s a pretty big bedroom for the size of the apartment. David steps inside and looks around. There’s a small closet, a dresser against one wall, a queen bed and some bedside tables on either side of it, and there’s a small desk with a laptop on top of it and a rolling chair. This apartment doesn’t feel like a home but neither does David’s apartment. His mind wanders to them finding a different place for them to live in together and not moving into one of their apartments - buying their own home together. The thought makes David smile.

“Pizza should be here in about thirty minutes,” Patrick says as he makes his way over to his bedroom, seeing David standing inside of it from the open door. “My apartment isn’t very big,” He comments, echoing David’s own thoughts.

David turns to look at Patrick who’s leaned against the doorframe. “We don’t have to give up our own apartments just yet,” He tells him.

“Oh, yeah, that’s um - that’s a good idea,” Patrick says, stumbling over his words.

David goes to stand in front of him and puts his hands on his shoulders to try and calm him. “No, no, I didn’t mean -” David takes a breath. He continues, “I just mean, my apartment is bigger but I don’t necessarily think we need to both live in one of our apartments. We could keep both until we decide what we want to do, if that’s moving into mine or yours, or even get a place that’s completely new, that we could make our home.” 

David’s mouth twists up to the side and Patrick can’t help but grin at him. “I really like the sound of that,” He tells him. 

“Okay,” David says softly before kissing him on the lips. 

Patrick pulls David against him by his waist and he feels David’s arms circle around his shoulders as they deepen the kiss. Patrick steps forward, walking David back further into the room. They stop when David’s legs hit the edge of the bed. They stop kissing and look at each other full of heat. David sits down on the bed, scooting up a bit further onto it, and looks up at Patrick who’s standing right in front of him. He hooks his finger into one of Patrick’s loops on his jeans and pulls him to him. Patrick straddles David, each leg on either side of him, their groins touching. David’s arms wrap around him and his hands move up his back. Patrick brings his hands to either side of David’s neck and tilts his head up so he can kiss him on the lips. 

This feels like nothing Patrick has ever experienced before. Feeling David hard and strong beneath him as his big hands move up and down his back, touching him wherever he can. His own hands on David’s neck, his thumb grazing his jaw and feeling the stubble there. He grinds hard against David eliciting a moan from the man beneath him which just makes Patrick harder, more turned on to hear more of the noises David makes. David broke away from the kiss to breathe so Patrick takes the opportunity to move his lips elsewhere. He moves his lips to David’s neck, kissing and sucking on the skin lightly, nipping at it and then soothing over it with his tongue. 

David’s hands are grabbing onto Patrick’s ass and pulling him harder against him. “ _Patrick,_ ” he moans out softly. Patrick looks down into David’s eyes and sees the man he fell in love with - not because of his looks but for who he is inside, he fell in love with his soul before anything else. “What?” David asks him softly. Patrick can tell he’s starting to get self-conscious as he looks at him intently.

“You’re so beautiful,” Patrick tells him and watches as the small smile on David’s lips gets bigger and twists to the side as if to stop it from overtaking his face. David’s hands move to Patrick’s waist and just stay there, they stay silent looking at each other, unsure of what to do next. Patrick says, “I don’t want to stop but I think that for right now we should.”

David nods his head. “Yeah, um, I - I agree. You feel _really_ good on my lap, like _too_ good so I think that’s a good idea,” David tells him. Patrick blushes, he feels it creeping up and he bows his head down. David tilts his chin up to look at him and when their eyes meet he tells him, “I really love seeing you blush.” 

Patrick chuckles and blushes more if that’s even possible. He moves off of David’s lap and is glad that most of his erection has gone down so it’s not painfully obvious as to how much making out with David on his bed turned him on. “How about I get us a drink and we sit and talk? Or I can show you some pictures I have?” Patrick suggests.

“I’d like that,” David says, standing from the bed. 

“Great,” Patrick says with a small smile. They make their way out of the bedroom and Patrick heads to the kitchen. “I think I have some beers left in the fridge or I have whiskey?”

“Whiskey’s good,” David says as he sits down on the sofa, looking back over it to look at Patrick who gives him a small smirk before grabbing the whiskey and pouring it into two glasses.

Patrick hands David his glass and grabs a photo album that’s on a bookshelf in the corner of Patrick’s living room before joining David on the sofa. Patrick holds his glass towards David and says, “To our future together,” before they smile softly at each other and clink their glasses together. 

Patrick shows David the photo album, his baby pictures and pictures of him throughout the years as a kid playing baseball and hockey, to him in high school at dances and prom, and with friends and family at birthday parties. They get through most of it before the pizza arrives and they trade looking at pictures for eating pizza and watching whatever it is that David decided to put on the TV. 

When they finish eating and everything is put away, David moves closer to Patrick and puts his head down on his shoulder. Patrick smiles and says, “Here,” lifting his arm so that David can cuddle closer, more comfortably. Patrick wraps his arm around him and idly moves his hand up and down David’s arm. 

“This is nice,” David tells him. He rests his arm that’s in between them on Patrick’s leg, his hand on his knee. 

Patrick kisses the top of David’s hair and inhales his scent, he likes it a lot. “Mhm,” He mumbles as he closes his eyes and lets his mind wander. He thinks about all the things he wants to do in the next few days by himself and with David - things he and they need to prepare for.

The rest of the afternoon goes by quickly. David needed to call his assistant to see how things are at the gallery so they stopped their little cuddle session on the sofa. Patrick also called work to see when he is needed back or if he can take a few more days off.

“I should probably get some groceries to make us dinner, do you want to come with me or stay here?” Patrick asks once they’re both off their phones.

“Could you maybe drive me to my apartment so I can shower and stuff? Then come back and get me after you get groceries?” David asks, fidgeting with his rings.

“Okay, David,” Patrick says with a small smile. He doesn’t ask or assume if David will spend the night with him, he really hopes so, whether it's at his apartment or at David’s, but if he wants to spend the night alone then he wouldn’t object to that. 

They head out to Patrick’s car with David’s bags that he brought with him to the experiment. Patrick drives them to David’s apartment and parks in front, there’s a guest parking lot in the front of the building. He gets out of the car and goes around to open David’s door before grabbing his bags. David whispers a small thank you to Patrick and leads the way inside. They head up to his apartment and David let’s them inside. 

Patrick looks around and it’s big - like almost three times bigger than his apartment. “Wow,” he can’t help but say out loud. David closes the door and walks over to Patrick who looks at him and says, “Nice place.”

“Thanks,” David says softly. “Here, I’ll take those,” he says pointing to his bags in Patrick’s hands. 

Patrick hands him his bags and follows him further into the apartment. David’s place is really nice, it has a huge living room and big kitchen with a dining area. He doesn’t know how many bedrooms and bathrooms there are but he’s sure it’s more than one of each. David disappears around the corner so Patrick follows and sees David putting his bags down onto a bed. This must be his bedroom. It’s a master suit and from what Patrick can tell there is a bathroom attached and he has a walk in closet. 

David turns to see Patrick looking at his room in awe. He walks towards him and puts his hands on his shoulders. “You okay there?” He asks him teasingly.

Patrick lets out a small laugh. “Yeah, sorry, just - your place is like three times the size of mine, maybe more. I’m just a little taken aback is all.”

“In a bad way?” David asks hesitantly, his face contorting.

Patrick leans forward and kisses him softly. “Definitely not,” He tells him against his lips. He kisses him again and pulls back to look him in the eyes. “Are you sure you wouldn’t much rather be here than in my tiny apartment?” He asks.

“I want to be where you are,” David says softly.

Patrick smiles. “We will be, even if that’s here. I could go get us groceries and cook here if you want. I just need to stop back at home to get some of my things,” He tells him. 

“Too complicated. Just come back after getting groceries and I will be ready to head back to your place,” David tells him before kissing him softly on the lips. 

Patrick says, “Okay, I’ll be back soon,” and with one final kiss he heads out.

While Patrick is shopping for groceries, David takes a shower and instantly relaxes - the water pressure in his bathroom is what was seriously lacking in the experiment. He takes a decently long shower, thoroughly cleaning in hopes that maybe more than just a bit of making out on the bed will happen when they spend their first night together. David also does his skin care routine before fixing his hair and then choosing the perfect outfit - his white jeans that look like they have paint smattered on them with his fitted zebra print sweater, this outfit shows every part of David’s body in the right way. 

Patrick texts him to say he’s headed back (they exchanged numbers right away) so David packs his overnight bag and before you know it Patrick is downstairs waiting for him. David sees Patrick get out of the car when he exits the building and goes to open the passenger side door for him, such a gentleman. 

“You look great,” Patrick says looking him over as he steps up next to him. 

“Thank you,” David says. He puts a hand on Patrick’s shoulder and kisses his cheek before getting into the car.

Patrick takes David’s bag from him and closes the door before opening the back door and putting the bag on the backseat. He gets in the car and drives them back to his place, his hand on David’s thigh almost the whole way back which makes David feel all fluttery inside.

*

After dinner and cuddling on the sofa with a movie they decide to head to bed. Patrick lets David use the washroom first since he said he’d like to take a quick shower before bed. David goes into Patrick’s room to change into his sleeping clothes while Patrick showers and he gets in the bed and waits for him. 

Patrick comes into his bedroom in some thin blue pajama bottoms and a white t-shirt. He closes the door behind him and sees that David already turned off the overhead light and turned on the lamp that’s sitting on one of the bedside tables. Patrick just stands there looking at David in his bed. His fiancé is lying in his bed with his back against the headboard. 

“What? Am I on your side?” David asks finally. 

Patrick laughs and makes his way over. “No, you’re good,” He tells him as he climbs in on the side closest to the door. 

Once Patrick is settled in, he looks to his side and meets David’s eye. David says softly, “Hi.”

Patrick is transported back to the experiment when he first heard that simple little word from David and it makes him feel just as lightheaded and fluttery as the first time. Patrick brings his hand up to caress David’s face, his thumb moving along his jaw feeling the stubble. 

“You like my stubble,” David states, watching Patrick’s eyes as he looks at his thumb caressing his face.

Patrick meets David’s eye and says, “I really do,” before leaning forward and kissing him on the lips. 

David’s hand moves from beneath the blanket to Patrick’s arm and to the back of his neck, keeping him close. Patrick parts David’s lips with his tongue slipping it inside his partners mouth, devouring him. 

They get heated quickly, much like their makeout from earlier that day. David pushes Patrick back and they break apart from their kiss. Patrick looks at David with so much desire and a little confusion as to why they are no longer kissing. David pushes the blanket out of the way and climbs onto Patrick’s lap, straddling him. Patrick’s hands immediately go to David’s hips and they can both feel and see how hard they both are in their too thin pajama bottoms. 

“Is - is this okay?” David asks softly, moving his hands up Patrick’s chest to his shoulders and back down.

Patrick’s hands tighten on David’s hips and it pulls him even closer to him, their hard cocks moving against each other through their pants. Patrick moans at the friction and David smirks at him knowingly. “It’s definitely okay, it’s just - I think I should be clear on where I am right now,” Patrick says.

“Oh, um, yeah, okay,” David says.

Patrick takes a deep breath and says, “So you know already that I’ve never been with a man before and this is - this is all so good, I don’t think I’m ready to have sex yet.”

David smiles at him sweetly. “That’s okay, we don’t have to do any more than what we were just doing,” He tells him. He definitely wanted more but he’s okay with waiting, he wants Patrick to be completely comfortable and ready to move forward with their sexual relationship.

“I want to touch you, though, David, so maybe just um, just a bit more than what we were just doing?” Patrick asks, a blush tinting his features.

“Mhm, yes, please,” David says quickly before closing the distance between them and kissing him hard on the lips, arms wrapping around his shoulders. Their chests are pressed together and David can feel how hard Patrick is beneath him and he can’t help but rock his pelvis against his. 

“ _Fuck, David_ ,” Patrick moans, his hands moving up David’s back under his shirt, feeling his warm skin. David’s kissing Patrick’s neck, teasing him with his tongue. 

He pulls back and removes his shirt, tossing it on his side of the bed. Patrick’s eyes rake over David’s chest at the hairs that have grown back since he hasn’t been able to get waxed in over a week. Patrick brings his hand up to David’s chest and touches the hair, feeling how soft it is and not what he expected it to feel like. 

“I usually wax, sorry it’s-” David starts to say when Patrick interrupts with, “It’s really sexy, David. I wouldn’t want you to wax but it’s your body so if you want to keep doing that I’m not going to stop you. I really like this though.” He continues to touch his chest looking back down at it. He leans forward and kisses his chest, feeling the hair against his lips. His tongue glides across one of his nipples and David’s hips involuntarily jerk at the contact.

Patrick’s eyes snap up to David and he can see how dilated his pupils are, feel how hard he is beneath him. Patrick takes David’s nipple into his mouth and David moans, hips jerking again. Patrick sucks on the small nub, teasing it, before moving his lips across his chest to the other nipple, he does the same thing to it, driving David crazy with want.

“The noises you make,” Patrick says looking into his eyes. “I’ve never heard anything sexier, David, you’re driving me crazy.”

David captures Patrick’s lips in a heated kiss, pressing his chest up against his but feels his t-shirt. He pulls back and removes Patrick’s shirt from him, tossing it onto his next to them. Patrick has a good body, no doubt about that. His strong, thick thighs under him, with a thick and hard cock to match as he feels it pressing against him, and his strong broad shoulders and toned arms and chest. David kisses Patrick’s neck and moves lower down to his chest. He moves off of his lap and in between his legs scooting further down the bed. Patrick follows his lead and lies down on the bed, head on the pillows. David lowers himself partially on top of him and kisses Patrick on the lips before moving back down to his chest. He licks his nipple, teasing it slowly but he doesn’t have a strong reaction to it so David moves lower, kissing him until he meets the waistband of his pajamas. He looks up at Patrick who’s watching him with parted lips. 

“Can I?” David asks, his finger dipping into his pants just at the hem. Patrick nods his head but David says, “Use your words, baby.”

Patrick feels his throat go dry at hearing David call him ‘baby’ as he’s in between his legs with his face so close to his aching cock. He swallows around the lump in his throat and says, “Yes, please, David.”

David smirks at him before lowering his pajamas, Patrick lifting his hips to help him take them partially off. Patrick’s hard cock is right in David’s face and he feels his mouth water. He has a gorgeous cock - it’s big, thick, and it’s leaking and ready for him to swallow up so he licks the tip collecting the precum and Patrick moans softly above him. David smiles before swirling his tongue around the head then lowering his mouth over him taking him all the way into his mouth. 

“ _Fff- David_ ,” Patrick moans, his hand coming to David’s hair, fingers lightly threading through the thick hair. 

David moans around him. He moves up and down, swirling his tongue, taking him down all the way then pulling off almost all the way. He feels Patrick only lightly tugging at his hair and trying to not jerk his hips up into David’s mouth so he pulls all the way off and looks up at him. Patrick meets his gaze and David says, “Patrick, you taste so fucking good. I just - you don’t need to hold yourself back, I can take it, give it to me. You want to pull my hair or fuck into my mouth, do it, I like it.”

Patrick bites his bottom lip and says, “Jesus, David.”

David winks at him before taking him back into his mouth and this time Patrick doesn’t hold back. He pulls at David’s hair harder and lets himself fuck up into David’s mouth. It feels so good and soon he feels the tightening deep inside him and he knows he’s going to cum. He taps at David’s shoulder and says, “I’m gonna come.”

David moans, swallowing him down more, and taking everything Patrick gives him when he comes hard down his throat with a loud moan of his name. David licks him clean and pulls off of him slowly, gently. He moves back up his body to kiss him hard on the lips. Patrick moans against his lips, slipping his tongue into David’s mouth and he tastes himself on his tongue. He doesn’t mind it at all, and is thinking about what David tastes like. 

Patrick pushes David to lie back and brings his hand down to cup at his hard cock through his pajama bottoms. He leans big and hard and he so badly wants to feel him in his hand. David moans at the touch, deepening their kiss. Patrick pulls David’s pants down just enough to free his cock and he breaks the kiss to look down at it. He feels his mouth water and his previous thought of what he tastes like comes back to his mind. He knows he’s not ready yet but the desire is very much there.

David takes himself in his hand and strokes it. “Kiss me,” He says, making Patrick look back at him. 

Patrick kisses David just like before, full of passion and love, tongues teasing and tasting each other. Patrick brings his hand to where David is stroking himself. “I’d like to touch you,” He says against his lips.

David says softly, “Please.” He moves his hand away and lets Patrick take him. He moves his hand up and down his shaft, twisting his wrist at the head. David moans at the touch and just watches as Patrick looks at his movements then back up at David’s face when he moans. It’s not long before David feels the tightening deep inside him. “Patrick, I’m gonna come,” He tells him.

Patrick keeps stroking him and watches David’s face as he comes hard into his fist, on his hand. David moans out his hips moving up and further into Patrick’s fist, chasing that tightness. 

Patrick kisses his neck, sucks a small mark into his flesh as his orgasm subsides. He lets go of his sensitive cock and sees his hand covered in his cum. He puts his finger into his mouth to taste David, to know what he tastes like.

“Fuck, Patrick, that was so hot,” David says, watching Patrick lick his cum off of his finger.

“You taste good,” He tells him, feeling the blush creep up his neck. 

“Come here,” David says. 

Patrick leans forward and meets him in a sweet kiss before pulling back. He says, “I’ll be right back,” before disappearing out of the room. 

He comes back quickly with a warm washcloth to clean any excess that got onto David. He tosses it in his laundry basket before he crawls right back into bed next to David. Glad to see that David didn’t put his shirt back on. He tosses the shirts to the ground and closes the bedside lamp. He cuddles up close behind David, wrapping his arm around his middle. He feels David move closer, his ass pressed up against him. David puts his arm around Patrick’s that’s holding him close.

“Real you is better than pillow you,” Patrick whispers.

David chuckles softly. “Good or I might have been jealous,” He teases. 

Patrick kisses the part where his shoulder meets his neck and breathes him in. “I love you, David,” He whispers.

“I love you, Patrick,” David whispers back. He takes Patrick’s hand and kisses it before threading their fingers together and bringing them back down onto the mattress.

Patrick feels calm, at peace - he feels at home with David here in his arms. David feels that same sense of calm wash over him as he hears Patrick’s breathing even out - he feels at home in Patrick’s arms.


	7. Always by your side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patrick runs an important errand while David checks in with his gallery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to those following this story, it means a lot to me! Hoping everybody is enjoying all the lives from the cast that we're getting, I know I am!! Tomorrow is the f*nal episode ever and I am really in my feels about it like I'm sure all of you are too. I hope you enjoy this chapter and are staying safe out there! 💕

DAVID

David wakes up to the feel of lips - down his neck, on his shoulder, his arm and then back up. He smiles knowing those lips belong to his fiancé who he spent the night with for the first time. David is still consumed by sleep but he doesn’t want Patrick to stop what he’s doing, it feels too good. He pushes his ass back into him, cuddling in closer. Patrick nips at his earlobe where he was kissing it before David pushed back into him. David feels Patrick’s hardness against him and it feels great so he pushes back against him again and hears Patrick’s sharp inhale. 

“So you’re awake,” Patrick says lowly into his ear before kissing his neck again.

David moans lightly. “I’m awake enough for this,” David says in a deep, rough voice since it hasn’t been used yet. He clears his throat.

Patrick’s hand wraps around David’s waist pulling him against him even further, his pelvis rotating slowly against his ass. David reaches his hand back and into the short hairs at the back of Patrick’s neck, keeping his head where it is in the crook of his neck, lips and tongue teasing the nape of his neck. 

Patrick’s hand moves from David’s hip slowly to cup him through his pajama pants and David moans, hips bucking up and into Patrick’s touch. 

Patrick touches him through his pants and David can feel an orgasm already building up just from this. He turns around roughly in Patrick’s arms, pressing himself fully against him and crashing their lips together. 

Patrick moans into the kiss, his hands roaming all over his body. David hooks his leg over Patrick’s hip and their hard cocks press against each other through their pajama pants and the friction drives them both closer to the edge. 

They break apart from the kiss to catch their breaths. David moves his lips to Patrick’s neck. Patrick moans as he ruts against David. “ _David_ …” He moans out softly.

David moves his lips back to Patrick’s, kissing him hard, teasing his tongue against his. It doesn’t take much more before they’re both coming hard against each other in their pants with a moan of each other's names on their lips. 

Their lips slow against each other, the urgency gone. They pull back and look at each other before laughing. David can’t remember the last time he came in his pants just from dry humping. 

Patrick kissing him quickly on the cheek before getting out of bed. He says, “I’m gonna clean up quickly then the washroom is all yours.”

“Okay,” David says softly. He watches as Patrick disappears out of the washroom with some fresh clothes. David gets out of bed, puts his rings back onto his fingers, and collects his things.

Patrick comes out of the bathroom and kisses him softly on the cheek again, a hand on his hip. “I’m gonna make us some breakfast, take your time.”

“Thanks,” David says. Patrick winks at him before going to the kitchen. David goes to the washroom. He decides on taking a body shower before getting ready for the day. When he comes out of the washroom he’s met with the sight of Patrick at the stove making them pancakes. 

“Mmm, smells good,” David says as he wraps his arms around Patrick from behind and kisses his neck. 

“Chocolate chip pancakes just like you like them,” Patrick says, turning his head to the side to kiss David softly on the lips.

“Is there coffee?” David asks, unwrapping himself from Patrick. 

“Yeah, should be ready,” Patrick says nodding to the coffee machine. 

David pours himself a mug then puts his milk and sugar in before taking a sip and sighing contently. “Would you like some tea?” David asks.

Patrick smiles sweetly and picks up the mug nearest him. “Made some already but thanks,” He tells him then takes a sip before putting it back down. He puts the last of the pancakes on the plate and turns off the stove, moving the pan away.

He puts two pancakes on another plate for himself and hands David the rest of the pancakes. They sit at the table where the maple syrup and their utensils are already there waiting for them. 

David takes a big mouthful of the delicious pancakes and moans lowly. Patrick looks at him with a soft smile on his face. “These are really good,” David says once he swallows the bite. 

Patrick chuckles. “I’m glad you like them,” He says with a sweet smile. 

“So what’s the plan for today?” David asks after taking a sip of his coffee.

“Well, I have an errand I have to run but it shouldn’t be long. Did you need me to drive you somewhere before I go do that?” Patrick asks.

David’s really curious as to what this errand is but he doesn’t want to push. “Yeah could you drive me to my gallery?” He asks. 

“Of course, I’d love to see it,” Patrick says with that sweet little smile of his.

David smiles at him before digging back into his pancakes. 

They get to Rose Gallery and David leads the way inside, Patrick right behind him. David feels a calm over him as he walks in. He’s really missed being here. He sees his assistant, Cory, at his desk and when Cory sees him he grins and makes his way over to him. 

“David!” Cory says, “I didn’t think you’d be coming in so soon.” 

David hugs Cory and says, “Me neither.” Cory looks at Patrick and back to David with wide eyes. David introduces them, “Cory this is my fiancé, Patrick. Patrick, this is Cory, he’s my assistant but basically runs this place for me when I’m not around. I don’t know what I’d do without him.”

Cory puts his hand over his heart at David’s words before extending it to Patrick and says, “It’s so nice to meet you, Patrick.”

“You too,” Patrick says with a smile, shaking Cory’s hand. 

David puts his hand on Patrick’s shoulder and says, “I’m gonna show you around so you can get to that errand of yours.”

The phone rings so Cory hops on over to his desk while David walks Patrick through his gallery. It’s a wide open space, black and white color palette, and the art on the walls are mostly portraits. 

“I like it, it feels very _you_ ,” Patrick says as he looks around. 

David smiles at him. “Thanks,” He says. 

PATRICK

Patrick kisses David goodbye, promising to come back after his errand is complete, before heading out. 

“Hello, how can I help you today?” The woman at the jewelers says when Patrick approaches.

“Hi,” He says with a smile. “I’d like to custom order four rings. I don’t have the ring because my fiancé wears them every day but here’s a picture.” Patrick shows the woman his phone of the four rings David wears every day. “I’d like to have these four rings made but in 24-karat gold.”

“We can definitely do that for you, sir. What are the measurements?” The woman asks him.

Patrick gives her the measurements. He had to be so sneaky last night slipping out of bed and taking David’s rings off the bedside table without him waking so he could take a picture of them and measure them. It’s definitely going to be worth it when Patrick sees the look on David’s face.

“How soon can this be done?” Patrick asks her. 

“Give me a minute,” She says before disappearing. Patrick waits for her for a minute or so before she comes back. “It can be done for Thursday morning,” She tells him.

That’s in two days, not bad. “Okay, that’s great, thank you,” Patrick tells her. She asks for a down payment because they are custom made rings so Patrick pays her then heads out. He thought of this whole plan to properly propose to David but now it’ll just have to wait a few more days. 

Patrick gets David some flowers in the shop near the jewelers before getting into his car. He calls David who picks up quickly with, “Hey.”

“Hi, so I’m on my way back, did you need me to pick you up anything while I’m out?” Patrick asks him.

“No, just you,” David says, making Patrick smile. 

“Okay, David, I’ll be there soon,” Patrick tells him.

DAVID

David fills Cory in on everything when Patrick leaves for his errand. “I can’t believe you’re actually engaged to someone you just met in person like two days ago! It’s so not like you,” Cory says after it all.

“I know but that’s a good thing, right?” David says and Cory nods his head. “I tried something totally outside of my realm of possibilities and I’ve found the most amazing person.”

“And he’s hot!” Cory says with a wiggle of his eyebrows. 

David reaches his hand out to squeeze Cory’s arm, his eyes closing as he says, “You don’t even know how fucking hot he is.” David dishes to Cory about how they haven’t had sex yet but what they have done has been incredible. He tells him about how he feels when he’s near him and when he even just thinks about him.

“So you’re like in love _love_ ,” Cory says with a happy smile on his face.

David’s head shakes and he has a huge grin on his face, his upper body starts to wiggle with excitement. “I really am,” He says. 

“I’m so happy for you, David, it’s definitely well deserved!” Cory tells him. 

“Thank you,” David says.

“Have you told your family yet?” Cory asks.

David’s face deflates. “No but I was going to call them soon,” He says.

The phone rings and Cory says to David, “Call them,” before picking up the phone and answering, “Rose Gallery, Cory speaking.”

Cory shoos David away so David rolls his eyes and heads to his office. He sits on the sofa and looks at his phone. He doesn’t really want to speak to his parents or his sister. They’ve never been a close family but they are his family and he knows that Patrick is close to his own family so he takes a deep breath and calls his sister.

“Hello?” Alexis answers the phone.

“Hey, it’s me,” David says.

“Hey,” She says, extending the word by too many syllables. “What’s up?”

“Um, I don’t know how to ease into it but I’m engaged,” David says straight up. 

“WHAT?” Alexis yells into the phone. 

“Oww! Can you not yell into the phone please?” David says to her.

“Sorry,” She says. “What do you mean you’re _engaged_?” She asks.

“I mean that I am engaged, like to be married…” David tells her, rolling his eyes.

“To who? You didn’t even tell me you were seeing someone,” Alexis says.

David sighs. “I was in an experiment to see if love is blind and I got engaged. We’ve only seen each other in person for like two days now,” He tells her.

“WHAT?” She yells again.

“Yell one more time in my ear and I will find a stick-” David starts to threaten her.

“Sorry, David, ugh!” She groans. “You’re just not making any sense right now. Are you in Toronto?”

“Yeah, why?” He asks her.

“Okay, I’m in New York right now but I’m getting on a plane and coming right away. I’ll be over tonight,” Alexis says.

“No, no, no, no, that is totally not necessary, Alexis,” David tries to stop her.

“David, you got engaged to somebody you don’t even know, I’m coming. Did you tell mom and dad yet?” She asks.

“No, I called you first…” He tells her.

“Well, they’re in Europe I think so they wouldn’t hop on a plane right away like me-” Alexis starts to say.

“I don’t even need you to get on a plane right away!” David tells her.

“David, I’ve already booked it. I’ll be over by eight o’clock. Call mom and dad,” Alexis says before hanging up on him.

“Ugh!” David groans as he looks at his phone. Fuck. He really did not need to deal with her sister coming here and judging him or his relationship with Patrick. He knows he needs to call his parents before Alexis does but he doesn’t want to deal with it right now so he doesn’t. 

David goes to his desk and turns it on. He checks his emails from clients and artists that he missed while being away. He gets lost in his work until Patrick calls him, glad to see that he’s on his way back.

David hears the door open and then Cory tells Patrick that he’s in his office. David shuts off his computer and looks up to see Patrick coming into his office with a bouquet of flowers. David can’t help but grin at the sight. 

He gasps and says, “What’s this?” as he makes his way over to him.

Patrick’s got that sweet smile on his face that he loves so much already. “Nothing just a little something for you,” Patrick says as he hands the flowers to David, before kissing him softly on the lips.

“Thank you, they’re beautiful,” He tells him.

“Are you ready to go?” Patrick asks.

“Yes, umm,” David says and puts his lips between his mouth. Unsure if he should tell Patrick about the conversation with Alexis.

“What’s going on?” Patrick asks him.

David puts the flowers down on his desk before going to sit on the sofa. He pats the seat next to him and Patrick comes over to sit next to him. He says, “I called my sister and told her I’m engaged.”

Patrick smiles at him and asks, “How did that go?”

“She is flying in and will be at my place by eight, so…” David tells him. He twists his rings around his fingers, a nervous habit of his.

Patrick takes his hands in his and says, “I know you don’t have the best relationship with your family but this is going to be fine, David, I promise. I’ll be there with you, unless you’d rather I wasn’t.”

“No, I want you there,” David says quickly, surprising himself a little with how true those words are. He hasn’t seen his sister in almost a year and sure they’ve spoken here and there or he’s sent her money or a new passport or something to help her in a sticky situation but they haven’t had any real conversations in maybe ever. Tonight will be interesting and he really hopes Patrick will be able to handle everything that is Alexis Rose.

“Then I will be there,” Patrick tells him. He leans forward and presses their lips together in a short but sweet kiss. 

“I just hope you’re ready for it. Alexis is a lot,” David warns him. 

“Well, I mean, I’m doing so good so far with you so…” Patrick teases, smirk on his face.

David pushes his shoulder and says, “Shut up,” trying not to laugh. “It’s only been two days, I’m actually shocked you still want to marry me,” David adds out of habit, a fear that is still very much real to him, that he isn’t good enough for Patrick or that Patrick will see how he is outside of the experiment and not want him anymore.

“There is no universe in which I wouldn’t want to marry you, David,” Patrick tells him honestly. “I love you so much, and the only way we don’t get married is if you decide you want out.”

“That’s never going to happen,” David tells him, squeezing his hand.

Patrick grins and says, “Good because I cannot wait to marry you, David Rose.”

David’s mouth twists to the side, he feels like a blush might be creeping up his neck. He leans forward and cups Patrick’s face in his hand before kissing him softly on the lips. 

Patrick moves his hand to David’s thigh as his other hand goes up to hold David’s neck, keeping him in place and not to break the kiss. He parts his lips slightly and David slips his tongue inside, their tongues moving against each other slowly and sensually. 

David moves his free hand down Patrick’s side and around to his back, up and down. Patrick’s hand is high on his thigh and it’s making him feel really good, especially when he moves his thumb closer to the inside of his thigh. 

Patrick pulls back from the kiss slightly, they press their foreheads together as they breathe in and out. “Are you ready to go?” He asks before pulling back to look him in the eyes.

Patrick’s eyes are a little darker now and he’s sure his own eyes are the same, dark with want and lust and passion. David nods his head and says, “Yes, yeah, mhm let’s go.”

Patrick grabs David’s bag that’s sitting next to the sofa so David grabs the flowers on his desk and they head out together. David tells Cory he’ll be checking in and for him to not hesitate if he needs him in the coming few days.

They drive back to Patrick’s so he can grab some stuff before heading over to David’s. 

Patrick puts his bag down near David’s bed as David puts his own on his bed. They head out of the room and David goes into the kitchen to put the flowers in a vase. Patrick tells him, “I should call my parents, I haven’t spoken to them since before the experiment.”

“Okay,” David says simply. Once he finishes putting the flowers in a nice vase and putting it on the island in the kitchen he looks to Patrick who’s still there watching him.

Patrick says, “I don’t know if I can tell them over the phone that I am marrying a man since they’ve always thought I was straight. I think I’d like to do that in person, I just - I’m worried about what they might say or if they won’t look at me the same way.”

“Oh honey, come,” David goes to him and takes his hand leading him to the living room where they sit on the sofa. “Coming out is a very personal thing and you will do it on your terms and when you’re ready. If you aren’t ready to do that tonight then you don’t have to. I’m here for you through it all.”

“How was it for you when you came out?” Patrick asks him.

“I brought home this couple one day and told my parents to deal with it so maybe not the best person to ask,” David tells him, making Patrick chuckle. 

“I think maybe I’ll just go over to their place tomorrow and see them so that I can tell them everything in person,” Patrick says.

David nods. “Whatever you think is best.”

“It’ll give you some time with your sister too and maybe calling your parents to tell them also?” Patrick probes.

David eyes him and sees the little smirk on Patrick’s face. “I see what you did there. Okay, fine, I will call them tomorrow while you are with your parents,” He caves.

“Thank you, David,” Patrick says with a satisfied smile. 

“Mhm,” David mumbles. 

They order in Thai food and eat in front of the TV with a movie from Netflix and a bottle of wine between them. David keeps checking the time and seeing it closer and closer to when Alexis will be arriving. Patrick tries to soothe him but nothing’s really working. Alexis drives him crazy even when she’s not around so he’s just really dreading this evening. He hopes she’s nice to Patrick but not too nice that she’s flirting with him - that’s happened before. He doesn’t need another boyfriend leaving him for her. He also hopes that Patrick doesn’t hate her because as much as he hates her she’s still his sister and he loves her and would do anything for her. He is the one always bailing her out of situations, not mom and dad. 

When they finish eating, David cuddles close to Patrick and tries to relax. That lasts for five minutes because then there is a knock on the door.

Alexis is here.


	8. Meet the Sibling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patrick meets Alexis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everybody! More happens in this chapter just don't want to give it all away hahah. Hope you're all holding up in quarantine and social distancing. I can't believe the show is over, I'm so fucking emotional about it. I hope you guys are doing alright.  
> I hope you enjoy this chapter! 💖

DAVID

David answers the door to his sister standing there with her luggage. _Shit_. 

“Um, hi, David,” She says with a roll of her eyes and pushes past him into the apartment. 

“Hi,” David says back, closing the door behind her. 

“Oh so this must be the fiancé,” Alexis says. David sees Patrick stand to greet her.

“That’s Patrick,” David says as he makes his way over to them.

“Hi Alexis, it’s nice to meet you,” Patrick says as he takes her hand and shakes it even though she gave it to him all limp-wrist, like she expected him to kiss her hand or something.

“Nice to meet you too,” She says in that flirty tone of hers that always annoyed David every time she would meet a new guy, especially one he was dating.

“So I see you brought your luggage, are you expecting to stay here or?” David asks and Patrick shoots him a look.

“Uh yeah, you have an extra bedroom,” Alexis says with a flip of her hand as she goes to sit on the sofa.

“Of course, you can stay here,” Patrick says and David shoots him a look. He appreciates Patrick wanting to play nice with his sister but he also really doesn’t want her staying here.

“Thank you, Patrick,” She says before glaring at her brother. She pats the seat next to her and says, “Come sit.”

“Okay,” Patrick says as he goes to sit near her.

“David, can you get me a glass?” She asks as she touches the top of the wine bottle that’s on the coffee table.

David mumbles “mhm” before heading to the kitchen to grab her a wine glass. He comes back into the room and Patrick takes it from him to pour her the glass. David sits next to Patrick on his other side. 

“Thank you,” Alexis says as he hands her the glass. “So tell me how this little romance of yours started?”

  
“Um, it’s not little, Alexis, we are engaged…” David tells her. 

“You know what I mean, David,” Alexis says.

Patrick chuckles, he puts his hand on David’s knee and squeezes. He says, “Well, I’m sure David told you that we were a part of an experiment to see if love is blind. We were all in different lofts and could only communicate by talking through a TV screen. I only saw David in person after he agreed to marry me.”

“Wow, um, wow, that’s so crazy,” Alexis says, she has a concerned look on her face like she doesn’t know what to think about it all.

“Alexis-” David starts but Patrick interrupts with, “Look, I know it’s a lot to take in. David and I haven’t known each other for long, it’s only been a week or so but I love your brother very much. I knew from the first moment we spoke that I was done for. He has my heart and I can’t wait to marry him.”

David brings his hand up to Patrick’s shoulder and squeezes. Patrick turns to look at him and sees that sweet little smile he loves so much. Alexis breaks their little moment by tapping him on the leg and saying, “That’s really sweet.”

Patrick blushes, he can’t help it but it just makes David smile wider. 

“Okay,” She says, raising her glass. David and Patrick follow her lead by picking up their wine glasses and she continues, “To my older brother, David, I’m so happy you found somebody to share your life with, and to the newest addition to our family, Patrick, best wishes to you.” 

Patrick laughs and David smiles but rolls his eyes at her. They clink their glasses together and take a sip. Patrick says, “Thank you, Alexis, that means a lot.”

Alexis touches her pointer finger to his nose and says, “Boop,” with a smile on her face. Patrick turns to look at David with a confused look and David just shakes his head at him. 

They spend the rest of the evening getting to know each other while David watches them interact. He’s actually having way more fun than he thought he would. He knew Patrick would make a great impression on Alexis but he was worried about how she would react to their news since she was very receptive about it over the phone a few hours ago. She seems to really like him though, she’s asking him questions about his life much like what David asked him in the experiment. She’s laughing and smiling and David catches himself smiling and laughing along with her. He loves seeing his sister happy like this, it’s been a long time since he has. 

“So, David, did you tell mom and dad yet?” Alexis asks him.

“Patrick is going to tell his parents tomorrow so while he’s doing that I will call mom and dad,” David tells her.

“Good and I will be here to make sure you do that,” She tells him. 

“Speaking of, um, how long are you planning to stay?” David asks.

“I was thinking of staying until after your wedding, you’re going to need help planning it, and obviously I’m your maid of honour,” Alexis says.

“A whaaat?” David asks. “Why? Why would you be my maid of honour?”

“Um, who else would be your maid of honour, David?” She retorts.

“I was planning to ask Stevie,” David says.

“Who’s Stevie?!” Alexis asks.

“She was in the experiment with us, we connected. I told her to call me when she’s out of the experiment,” David says.

“Wait, it’s still happening?” Alexis asks, confused.

“Yeah, it’s ten days long, we got engaged after five days,” David tells her.

“I just couldn’t wait to see David so I proposed after five days instead of waiting until the end of it,” Patrick says, as he slips his hand into David’s, threading their fingers together and squeezing tight.

“Okay, well, I’m still going to stay to help you, you’re going to need it,” She says, flipping her hair back.

“Um, I don’t like your tone but fine,” David says. He knows he’s going to regret it but it will be nice to have these next few weeks with his sister. They haven’t lived in the same place in over fifteen years. And it’s only for the next four weeks or so because they need to be getting married by the four week mark of leaving the experiment.

They say their goodnights as Alexis takes her luggage with her into David’s guest room and David and Patrick head into his bedroom.

They get into bed in just their boxers, lying down facing each other in the darkness. Patrick says, “Your sister can be a lot but I like her.”

“Mm, you can say that again,” David says, making Patrick chuckle.

“She loves you very much. She wouldn’t have dropped everything to come here and stay for the next few weeks to help with the wedding if she didn’t,” Patrick tells him.

“I know,” David says on an exhale. “Our privacy will be very limited though.”

“Good thing we still have my place,” Patrick says as he brings his hand to David’s hip, his thumb moving in circles across his pelvic bone.

“Mmm, that’s right,” David says as he moves closer, his hand to his neck as he closes the distance between them, kissing him hard on the lips. 

Patrick moans into the kiss as their bodies align fully, feeling David pressing his groin against his. David slips his tongue into Patrick’s mouth, teasing him as his hands roam over his body.

Their pace starts to slow back down and their kisses become lazy. David yawns making Patrick yawn then laugh. He says, “Turn around.”

David doesn’t even have it in him to tease him about his wording, instead he just turns around and feels the weight of his partners strong arms wrap around him and hold him close. Patrick kisses the side of his neck and whispers, “Goodnight, David.”

“Goodnight, Patrick,” David whispers back as he takes his hand in his and kisses it before they both fall sound asleep.

PATRICK

Patrick kisses David goodbye after breakfast and heads out. He calls his parents to make sure they’re home and they are very happy to hear from him and excited to see him.

It takes Patrick about twenty minutes to get to his parents house. He pulls into the driveway and parks the car. He takes a deep breath trying to calm himself. This is a big deal and it’s making him really nervous but he wants them to know who he is and who he is about to spend the rest of his life with. 

As Patrick makes his way out of the car and up to the house his dad opens the door to greet him, his mom right behind him. 

“Hi dad,” Patrick says as he makes his way over and into his arms for a hug.

“Patrick,” His dad, Clint, says, hugging his son tight. “It’s good to see you.”

“You too,” Patrick says before letting go to hug his mom next. “Hi mom.”

“Hi, my sweet boy,” She says hugging him tightly. “Oh, I’ve missed you.”

“Me too, mom,” Patrick says.

“Come on in, sweetheart, are you hungry? Do you want something to drink?” Marcy asks as she makes her way into the kitchen. 

Patrick following behind her says, “I’ll just have some water, thanks mom.”

He sits at the table with his father as his mom grabs him a glass of water. “So tell us, what’s been going on? You’re back before the experiment is over, I take it things went well?” Clint asks him.

“Yeah, that’s actually why I came over here. I have to tell you guys something,” Patrick says. Marcy hands him the glass as she takes a seat next to her husband across from their son.

“What is it, Patrick?” Marcy asks him. 

Patrick takes a sip of water then takes a deep breath. “This is harder than I thought it would be,” He says as he looks down at his hands clasped together on the table.

“You can tell us anything, sweetheart,” Marcy says as she puts her hand over both of his.

Patrick takes one more deep breath before looking at both of his parents and saying, “I’m gay.”

Marcy smiles at him sweetly, just like she always does, and Clint has a little sheen to his eyes but a smile on his face. Clint says, “I’m glad you’ve finally figured it out, son.”

“Wait, you knew?” Patrick asks, confused.

“We thought maybe you could be,” Marcy tells him. “You’ve only dated a handful of women and they never lasted long. You didn’t seem very interested in dating, not like your friends were.”

“So you’re not upset?” Patrick asks them, that worry is still there.

“Of course not, son, we love you, nothing will ever change that,” Clint tells him.

Patrick takes a steady breath, the first one he’s taken since getting to his parents house. “I love you guys too,” He says, squeezing his mom’s hand that’s still on top of both of his.

“Did you realize because of the experiment?” Marcy asks him.

Patrick chuckles lightly, his mom always probing for information. “I did, I’m engaged to a man named David Rose. I’ve never been happier in my life,” Patrick tells them honestly.

“We’re so happy for you, Patrick,” Marcy says. She stands and her husband follows her lead. 

Patrick also stands and accepts their hugs, the tears he tried to stop coming down his cheeks, relief and happiness flooding through him. 

They sat back down and Patrick told them everything about the experiment and how he realized his feelings and sexuality being in there and how it’s all because of David. He knew from the moment he heard his voice that he was the one he was meant to be with. His parents are genuinely happy for him, listening to every word he has to say, smiling and laughing with him. 

“When can we meet him?” Marcy asks excitedly. 

“How about dinner tonight?” Patrick asks them.

Marcy claps her hands. “Oh yes, that would be perfect,” She says.

“How about you both come here for dinner? I’m sure your mother would love to show him the house you grew up in and some old photos,” Clint says.

“Oh God,” Patrick says, laughing slightly but also mortified at what pictures his mom would show David.

“It’s settled then, you both will come here for dinner,” Marcy says and that’s that, there’s no backing out now.

“Okay, well in that case I’m going to head out,” Patrick says as he stands. His parents stand as well and they all head to the door together. “I’ll see you guys at six?”

“Perfect, sweetheart,” Marcy says before hugging him. 

Patrick then hugs his dad before saying goodbye and heading back to David’s. 

DAVID

“So when are you going to call mom and dad?” Alexis asks after Patrick leaves to go see his parents.

“Ugh, I like just woke up,” David says, already so annoyed by her presence and they’ve only been awake for half an hour.

“David, your fiancé is going to come out to his parents today and to announce your engagement, I think you can handle telling mom and dad you’re engaged,” Alexis tells him emphasizing words with a tap of her finger to the table. 

“Oh my God, fine,” He says as he takes his phone from the table. 

“Do facetime,” Alexis tells him.

“Ugh,” David groans, glaring at her. He finds his mother’s cell phone number and calls via facetime. 

He puts the phone down against the vase holding the flowers Patrick got him and sees as his sister comes to sit next to him so she could also be in the shot. 

“Oh, David, Alexis, what a surprise,” Moira says upon answering the facetime. “John, look, the kids.”

“What? Where?” They hear their father ask as he makes his way over to his wife.

“Hi, mom, dad,” Alexis says as David also says, “Hi.”

“Oh kids! What are you two doing together this early?” Johnny asks them as he peeks his head into the camera next to Moira.

“Alexis is staying with me for the next few weeks,” David answers. 

“Oh, Alexis, how come? Did something happen in New York?” Moira asks.

“Nope nothing happened in New York, I’m here for David actually,” Alexis says before nudging her elbow into him.

“Ow! Okay,” He says glaring at her. 

“What’s going on?” Johnny asks them, his eyebrows knitting together in worry. 

“Um, okay, so I was a part of an experiment to prove if love is truly blind and it worked because I’m engaged,” David tells them.

“Excuse me? What did you just say, David?” Moira asks, confusion written all over her voice. 

“You’re engaged? To who? How?” Johnny asks all one after the other.

“If it helps, I met him yesterday and he is a cute little button face and David is very lucky to have him,” Alexis tells them.

“Thanks,” David says sarcastically before looking back to the phone. “His name is Patrick. We connected without ever seeing each other until he proposed to me. Now we’re engaged and going to get married in a few weeks. Alexis is here helping me plan the wedding.”

“This is all very quick, is it not, David?” Moira asks.

Johnny asks, “Yeah, don’t you think it’s best to get to know each other first before rushing into a marriage?” 

“Well, as per the experiment, we have four weeks after leaving the experiment to get married. We have to send proof of our marriage license to the people running the experiment so they can test their theory that love is blind,” David explains to them. “Also, I love Patrick very much. I’ve never been this happy in my life.”

“I can attest to that,” Alexis chimes in. “I’ve never seen David smile so much.”

“Well, we just need to meet this young man,” Johnny says as he looks at his wife. “Moira, when can we get to Toronto?”

“No, no, no, you don’t have to rush over here,” David tries to stop them but he knows it might be too late.

Moira ignoring David answers her husband, “Well, in a couple of days we are supposed to be flying back to Los Angeles but we could change our tickets to fly to Toronto.”

“Okay, I’ll make the change. David, we will see you this weekend, okay?” Johnny says.

“Alexis is already staying here, there’s no room,” David tries helplessly to avoid this from happening.

“Oh dear, we will be staying in a hotel,” Moira tells him.

David sighs, defeated. “Fine, okay, see you this weekend than,” He says.

“Looking forward to it, son,” Johnny says.

They say goodbye then hang up the call. David glares at Alexis and she says, “What, David?”

“Now they’re coming here, thanks to you,” David blames her.

“Um, David, your sweet little button also wanted you to call them so don’t just blame me!” She tells him and he groans at her. “Plus, they’re not staying here so take that stick out of your ass and like calm down.”

“Ugh!” David groans again, he takes his phone and heads into his room. 

PATRICK

Patrick let’s himself into David’s apartment with the key David gave him before leaving. It was his spare key in case of emergency, no better person than the man he’s going to marry to have it. 

“Hello?” Patrick calls out as he locks the door behind him.

“Hey!” Alexis calls from the living room where she’s painting her toenails, feet propped up on the coffee table, and the TV on playing some documentary about a crime boss. “How was seeing your parents?” She asks him.

“It went very well, thanks for asking. Um, where’s David?” Patrick asks her.

“In his room,” She tells him. Patrick nods before looking at what she’s watching on TV. She says, “I dated him for like two months undercover.”

Patrick looks at her confused, head tilted to the side. She winks at him before going back to painting her toenails.

“Okay, I’m just gonna-” Patrick says before heading to David’s room. He knocks softly on the door and says, “David, it’s me.”

“Come in,” David tells him.

Patrick opens the door and sees David lying in bed under the covers, scrolling through his phone. “You okay?” He asks as he closes the door behind him.

“Yeah,” He says simply before scooting over and pulling the comforter back. 

Patrick smiles and gets into the bed with him. David puts his phone down and turns to face Patrick, giving him a small smile. “How did it go?” He asks him.

Patrick smiles, he takes David’s hand in his and squeezes. “It went well. They’re completely approving of it and can’t wait to meet you. We’re having dinner there tonight,” He tells him.

“What?!” David asks, his voice going up an octave as he sprints up into a sitting position. 

Patrick also sits up and says, “I’m sorry, I should have asked you first.”

David looks into Patrick’s eyes all soft and worried. He takes a breath and says, “No, it’s okay. Sorry, I’m just - I’ve never met someone’s parents before, but I am excited to meet them. I hope they like me.”

Patrick smiles that sweet little smile at him, all pleased but waiting to tease him. “David, they’re going to love you,” He tells him before leaning forward and pressing his lips to him in a soft kiss.

They pull apart and Patrick asks him, “Did you call your parents?”

David groans. “Yes, and they’ll be here this weekend,” He tells him.

“That’s great, how did they take it?” Patrick asks.

“They seemed confused but Alexis said you were a button and I was very lucky, all true so that seemed to have made them more okay with it, I guess,” David says.

Patrick laughs. “That’s good but I’m the very lucky one here,” He tells him.

David rolls his eyes but can’t help his smile. He moves closer to him to properly kiss the man he loves.

“Mm, what time do we have to be at your parents?” David asks between kisses.

“At six,” Patrick tells him.

“Okay, we have time,” David says before kissing him harder. 

Patrick chuckles and pulls back slightly. He says, “Let me lock the door first.”

“Good idea,” David says. 

Patrick locks the door and as he makes his way back to the bed he discards his shirt. David sits up on his knees as he makes grabbing hands at him making Patrick grin at him. 

Not before long David is getting ready to meet his soon to be in laws.


	9. Meet the Parents: Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David meets Patrick's parents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, happy 420 to all my stoner people! I hope everyone is having a fantastic day. If you're partaking in 420, I hope you are still doing that from your home or 6ft apart from anyone else if you are meeting up with friends, please be smart and safe!  
> Here is the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy it! Thank you so much for following along! 💖

DAVID

David’s nervous the entire drive to Patrick’s parents house. He’s never met a partner’s parents before. He’s never been this serious with anybody before to even come close to that point in a relationship. Though, this relationship has only been a bit over a week long, it’s the most serious David’s ever been. He’s never felt love like this before and because of that, it’s making him even more nervous to meet the parents of the man he’s fallen madly in love with.

Patrick’s the sweetest though, he’s got his hand on David’s where he was worrying his rings around his fingers. A gentle squeeze here and there from Patrick really helps calm him. He loves the feel of Patrick’s hands on him. They’re rough but in a good way - the kind of way that shows he’s worked hard in his life. 

They pull into the driveway of this beautiful little home on a big stretch of land. Patrick parks the car and turns his head to look at David. He asks, “You ready?”

David looks at him, mouth twisted to the side. “Mhm,” He mumbles out.

Patrick undoes his seatbelt and shifts a bit closer. He puts his hands on David’s shoulders making him fully face him. His right hand moves up to cradle his neck and David leans into the touch. Patrick’s thumb moves soothingly across David’s jaw. He tells him, “They’re going to love you because I love you.”

David smiles at him sweetly before closing the distance between them and kissing him softly on the lips. “I love you,” David says against his lips, making Patrick smile and pull back from it to look him in the eyes.

“It’s going to be fine,” Patrick reassures him. 

They get out of the car and Patrick takes David’s hand in his as they walk up to the house. Patrick rings the bell and the door swings open after a couple of seconds. “Hey, guys,” Clint says as he steps aside to let them in.

“Hey, dad,” Patrick says. Clint closes the door and Marcy comes to join them in the hallway. 

“Hi, sweetie,” She says as she approaches them.

“Mom, dad, this is David,” Patrick introduces.

“Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Brewer, it’s really nice to meet you,” David says with a small smile. 

Marcy smiles and walks towards him. “Oh, David, please, call me Marcy,” She says, “It’s nice to meet you too.” She opens her arms and David let’s go of Patrick’s hand to hug her. 

“And I’m Clint,” He says when his wife lets him go. He offers him a solid handshake. 

“David, would you like a tour? Patrick why don’t you show David around while we finish making dinner,” Marcy says. She has the sweetest little smile, just like Patrick. He likes her already. She has a comforting motherly tone to her voice and she just makes his nerves start to slowly disappear.

“Sure, mom,” Patrick says before looking at David. “Ready to see where I grew up?”

“Oh definitely,” David says with a smile. 

Patrick shows him around - first they head into the living room where David goes to the fireplace to see the framed pictures on the mantel. There’s a picture of Patrick in his cap and gown after graduating university, there’s a picture of the three of them at Christmas sitting by the tree, there’s one of a newborn Patrick sleeping on Marcy’s chest, and there’s one of Patrick holding up a trophy with him in his baseball outfit.

David smiles looking at them, seeing a glimpse into his fiancé’s past. Patrick shows him the washroom then the kitchen where they pass Marcy and Clint. Patrick steps outside and David follows behind as he shows him their backyard. It’s a big yard with a patio and a barbecue. There’s a tire swing tied to a huge tree and there’s a hammock on the other side of the yard. They have an above ground pool as well. It’s a beautiful yard. 

Patrick tells him about the barbecues and the family reunion parties they had out here every year. Celebrating birthdays and anniversaries. David likes seeing Patrick this happy, telling him about his life in this house. It makes him feel really good.

They head inside and Patrick brings him upstairs where he shows him another bathroom, his parents bedroom, and his childhood bedroom that his parents left the same as when he lived there.

“Wow,” David says as he steps into Patrick’s old bedroom. The blue walls, the sports trophies, and posters of men in baseball or hockey uniforms. David turns to look at Patrick who’s standing in the doorway watching him look around. “How’d you not know you were gay?” He asks pointing to the posters lining the wall.

Patrick chuckles and rolls his eyes. “A lot of my friends had posters up of their favorite players and they’re not gay… well, not that I know of,” He answers.

David quirks an eyebrow at him before going to sit on the bed. Patrick swallows around a lump that formed in his throat seeing David on his childhood bed. David sees Patrick shift where he stands and he can’t help but smirk at him. “Is this doing something for you, Patrick?” He teases, leaning back on his elbows.

Patrick clears his throat before coming further into the room and standing in between David’s open legs. David sits back up and pulls Patrick down on top of him. He kisses him roughly, tongue slipping into his mouth as his hands roam down his body and grab his ass. Patrick moans into the kiss and his hips buck into him. 

Patrick pulls back slightly to say, “I never thought I’d have the hottest guy in my childhood bed,” before kissing him so sweetly on the lips. He pulls back again and adds, “But we should be getting back downstairs because any minute now-”

“Boys!” Clint calls from downstairs.

“Yeah, that,” Patrick chuckles before kissing David one more time on the lips. He gets up and helps David up before heading back downstairs. 

David and Patrick sit next to each other on one side of the table while Marcy and Clint sit on the other. “Everything looks so delicious,” David says as he looks at the spread on the table. 

“Thank you, David,” Marcy says with a sweet smile. “Dig in.”

They serve themselves and before they eat Patrick lifts up his glass of wine and says, “I’d like to just say,” the other three follow and hold up their own glasses, “thank you to my amazing parents for having us here to get to know David,” he looks to David with a sweet smile, “the love of my life. I can’t wait to marry you.”

David smiles at him before clinking his glass to his. “I love you,” He whispers to him. “Thank you so much for having me here,” He says to Patrick’s parents.

“Thank you for coming and for making our son so happy,” Clint says.

“We are excited to get to know you better. Somebody who makes our boy smile this much must be a very special person,” Marcy adds making David blush.

“Feel free to ask me anything,” David tells them. 

PATRICK

Dinner is going very well. He’s surprised that David said for his parents to ask anything they want but it’s going really well. He told them what he does for work, about his family (to an extent), the best analogy for being pansexual which was sweet to see how his parents reacted to that one. They asked him what it was like for him to come out and past relationships, which was harder for David to answer but he was open.

“I’ve never been in a healthy relationship before Patrick,” David tells them. “I’ve been in many relationships before but they never lasted longer than a couple of months. I’ve been mistreated and put down, um, people I’ve been with just wanted me for my name or my money. I’ve never felt as safe and loved as I do when I’m with your son. He means everything to me.”

His mom has tears in her eyes at his words and reaches across the table to squeeze his hand. Patrick’s heart just keeps growing at every new moment with David. He doesn’t know how his heart hasn’t exploded by now. 

After dinner, his mom shows David some old photos while they sit together at the table sipping on their wine. Patrick goes to the living room with his father where he puts on a game. 

“David’s great,” He tells him. “I don’t really understand his clothes but he’s really great, son.”

Patrick laughs. “Neither do I but you’ll get used to it. It means a lot that you like him,” He tells him.

“We’re proud of you, Patrick, for finding out who you are and not being afraid to be that person and to love who you love. I’m really happy for you, son,” Clint says before patting his son on the shoulder.

Patrick feels tears in his eyes, he hugs his dad and feels his arms wrap around him. “Love you, dad,” He tells him.

“Love you too, always,” Clint says before they pull apart.

Patrick goes to the kitchen to check on David and sees them laughing. He smiles as he squeezes David’s shoulder, seeing them interact and having a good time is making him so happy. “Hey, babe,” Patrick says to him when he looks up at him. “Ready to head out?”

“Yeah, sure,” David says with a small smile. They both stand and the three of them head to the hallway where his dad is already waiting. David turns to his mom and says, “I will be calling you soon.”

“I look forward to it, dear,” She tells him as they hug goodbye. 

Once they’ve all said goodbye, the two of them head to the car. As they’re buckling up Patrick asks about his chat with his mom. David says, “It was great, your mom is a sweetheart. She offered to help me with whatever I need for the wedding.”

“Ah so that’s why you’ll be calling her,” Patrick notes. “That’s great. See, I told you they would love you.”

“I didn’t get much time with your dad though,” David says. 

“I did, he told me you’re really great and he’s happy for us,” Patrick reassures him. “You’ll have other opportunities to get to know him better, promise.”

David nods and smiles at him sweetly. Patrick leans forward, kissing him softly before putting the car in drive.

They get back to David’s apartment and see Alexis curled up on the sofa watching a movie. “You’re back,” She says as she sits up. “How was it?” She asks David when he makes his way over to sit on the sofa.

“It was great,” David says with a smile, “They’re very lovely people.”

“Well, that’s good,” Alexis comments. 

“You wanna see some of the old pictures of Patrick I took when his mom was showing me photo albums?” David asks her, taking his phone out of his pocket.

“Oh my God, yes,” She says as she scoots closer to him. 

Patrick rolls his eyes, he says, “I’m gonna make some tea, anybody want?”

“Yes, please,” David says looking up to smile at him softly. 

“Me too,” Alexis adds. 

*

Patrick gets into David’s bed and waits for him to finish his skincare routine in the washroom. He sets an alarm for tomorrow, not too early to annoy David, but early enough for him to be able to stop by his apartment before going to pick up David’s engagement rings. He has a plan in store for tomorrow night for when he’s going to officially, in person, ask David to marry him. He’s getting butterflies just thinking about it.

David walks into the room, closing the door behind him and slipping into bed with Patrick. The only light on is the bedside lamp. David runs his hand across Patrick’s bare chest, his thumb flicking across his nipple. He’s leaning in close, his lips lightly kissing his jaw and down his neck. 

Patrick puts his finger under David’s chin and tilts his head up so he can kiss him on the lips. It’s soft and sweet at first but then David’s tongue is in his mouth and he can’t help but suck on it, moan around it, want more of it. David pushes Patrick back so he’s lying down and gets on top of him, his leg in between both of Patrick’s as he grinds his hips slowly against him. Patrick loves the feel of David against him - he’s strong and rough but also gentle and soft. He can’t get enough of him. He grabs David’s hips and feels as he grinds against him again, his own hips bucking up at the contact. 

Patrick’s hard and can feel David’s against his through their boxers. It’s a lot and not enough at the same time. He wants more but he knows he’s not there just yet. David’s hands are roaming down his sides, feather light touches causing his skin to tingle. He moves his lips down his jaw to his neck, sucking a small mark just below his collarbone. 

“ _David_ ,” Patrick moans - the feel of David grinding his clothed erection against his, the weight of him on top of him, his perfect mouth on his neck marking him up, it feels so good he wants more. David kisses to his jaw before kissing him softly on the lips. When David looks into his eyes Patrick says, “I want you but I don’t think I’m ready for us to have sex yet.”

“That’s okay, baby,” David says before kissing him again softly. “I want you too, whenever you’re ready. How about - um, can I try something? If you don’t like it just tell me and I’ll stop.”

“Okay, yeah,” Patrick says. David smiles at him before kissing him again, rough and with so much love and lust. Patrick gets lost in the kiss, forgetting about what David wanted to try until David starts to pull at his boxers. They break away from the kiss to remove their boxers and then David is back on him. He kisses him again before kissing down his body, stopping to mark him again, right above his leaking cock, desperate for some attention.

David looks up at him and Patrick can’t help but say, “You look so good, baby.” He’s rewarded by that when David takes his cock into his hand and licks a stripe from base to tip on the underside of his cock, all while looking into his eyes. “ _Fff-”_ he moans out.

David swirls his tongue around the head before taking him more and more into his mouth until his lips reach his hand then he slowly pops off. He licks the underside of his cock again before going lower and licking his balls before taking one into his mouth. “ _Oh God_ ,” Patrick moans, his hand going down to thread his fingers into David’s lush hair. 

David does the same thing to the other one before licking just a little further down and Patrick moans. David comes back up to hover over him, he says, “Not that I’m not _loving_ these sounds you’re making, I just prefer if my sister didn’t also hear them,” with a smirk.

“Sorry,” Patrick says, a blush creeping onto his face. 

“You’re good, babe,” David says before kissing him on the lips. “Lift your hips,” He says and he feels David put a pillow underneath him. He kisses back down his body and does it all over again until his lips get further down. He taps on his ankles so Patrick plants his feet on the mattress. David takes his ass cheeks into his hands and massages it as he continues to lick in places he’s never been touched before, then he feels the smallest lick to his asshole where David spread him open.

Patrick moans then remembers to keep it down, which is hard to do when he’s looking down to find the hottest man in between his legs licking at the naughtiest place. David looks up at him through his lashes and Patrick nods at him, biting his bottom lip. David winks at him before going back in. He licks at him again before pressing his tongue inside lightly. Patrick moans, biting down on his lip, hands gripping onto the sheet. It feels so different but really good. 

David licks back up to his leaking cock, swirling his tongue around the head, collecting the precome. He reaches into his bedside drawer and pulls out a bottle of lube. He coats his fingers and rubs his pointer finger against his hole as he kisses his neck. “How does this feel, baby?” He whispers hotly into his ear before sucking on his earlobe.

“More, David, please,” Patrick moans out. 

David hums against his neck and says, “As you wish,” before pushing his finger inside of him.

“ _Unnmphh_ ,” Patrick moans at the contact. David crooks his finger inside before kissing him hard on the lips. 

He pulls back to look at him, his skin all flushed, hips moving up to brush his hard cock against David’s then back down onto his finger. “Look at you, so fucking sexy,” David says. “How about another one?” He asks as his middle finger toys with joining the other inside him.

Patrick moans into the crook of David’s neck, “ _Yes_.”

David pushes another finger inside of Patrick, scissoring him open, and searching for that sweet spot inside of him. He knows he’s hit it when Patrick’s back arches up and he moans loudly not trying to stifle it. “ _Fuck, David_ ,” He says.

“Touch yourself, wanna see you cum for me,” David commands. 

Patrick looks at him and takes his cock into his hand and moans lightly at the touch. Patrick kisses David hard, full of tongue, as he strokes himself and feels David’s fingers working inside of him. His hand brushes against David’s hard cock and he moans into the kiss. Patrick takes David’s cock into his hand and strokes them both off. 

David’s moaning into the kiss and soon they’re both coming hard into Patrick’s hand, spilling over each other and in between their bodies. 

Patrick lets them go slowly as he feels David’s fingers slowly slip out of him, already missing the contact. David’s kissing him softly on his neck and Patrick says, “That was amazing.”

“ _Mmm_ ,” David mumbles against his neck before coming up to look at him. “It sure was,” He adds kissing him softly on the lips. David gets up and grabs some tissues to clean himself and Patrick off for now. “I’ll be right back,” He says as he wraps his bathrobe around himself.

Patrick lies there regaining his breath and feeling his body buzz with electricity. David returns with a warm washcloth to properly clean Patrick off, himself having done that in the washroom. 

Patrick turns off the light when David is naked and back in bed with him, cuddled up against him. He pulls David to lie his head onto his chest and David swings a leg over him, really cuddling in close. He kisses the top of his head and listens to him breathe in and out. 

David kisses his chest and says just above a whisper, “Thank you for trusting me with doing something so new and different with you.”

Patrick rubs David’s back and kisses his forehead. “It felt - God, I’ve never felt so good before. You make me feel right, David,” He tells him.

David tilts his head up and kisses him softly on the lips. The kiss is gentle and so full of love, Patrick can’t believe how much more he falls in love with David every day.


	10. Meet the Parents: Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patrick meets Johnny and Moira Rose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I hope you're all doing well today. Here is the next chapter, part 2 of meet the parents since now it is Patrick's turn to meet David's parents. This one is longer, a lot happens. I hope you enjoy! 💖

DAVID

As sleep starts to leave him and he wakes to the smell of coffee and bacon, David moves his arm to reach for his partner but meets an empty bed. He peeks one eye open to see he’s alone in the room and his door is open just a bit letting in the smell of breakfast. David closes his eyes and stretches his arms above his head as he slinks into the bed further. 

David gets out of bed to put on a pair of black joggers and a black t-shirt before leaving his room. He sees Patrick making breakfast in his blue pajama bottoms and a white t-shirt. 

David wraps his arms around him from behind and kisses the side of his neck. He feels Patrick put his free hand onto both of his hands wrapped around him. “I like this,” He mumbles as he kisses his neck again.

“What’s that?” Patrick asks, pressing himself back against him.

David moans lightly in his ear before kissing him again, pressing into that perfect ass of his. “This. You, here, cooking breakfast,” He tells him.

Patrick puts the rest of the bacon onto the plate near him and David lets go of him. He goes to pour himself a mug of coffee as Patrick sets up their plates with bacon, scrambled eggs, and toast. 

They sit at the table and eat breakfast together. David tells him, “I need to start getting some things ready for the wedding, did you want to help me?”

“I would love to. I have some things to do today though,” Patrick tells him.

David nods. “Oh, okay, I can do some stuff without you today, have Alexis help me map out all the things we’re going to need,” He says.

Patrick scoots closer to him and takes his hand into his. “I want to be a part of the planning process, wherever and however you need me. I have something planned for us tonight that I need to get set up, so maybe this weekend when we aren’t with your parents, you could let me in on the wedding details?”

David’s mouth twists to the side in a small smile. He looks up as he runs his hands up to Patrick’s shoulders. “You have something planned for tonight?” He asks, wanting to know more about this.

Patrick smiles at him as he puts his hands on his thighs. He moves in closer, ghosting his lips against his before dipping down and kissing the side of his neck. He says into his ear, “I do and you’re gonna have to wait until tonight to know what it is. Just be ready to be at my apartment for seven.”

David groans. “Fine, okay,” He says. No matter how much he wants to know what it is, Patrick telling him when to be ready, the mystery of what he has planned, and his voice in his ear like that is making David weak. 

Patrick kisses him on the lips and David melts right into it, wrapping his arms tighter around his neck, deepening the kiss. 

“Eww, David!” They hear shrieking behind them. They break apart to see Alexis making her way into the kitchen to get some coffee. 

They go back to eating as Alexis grabs a yogurt and disappears back to her room. 

PATRICK

After a final kiss goodbye to David, Patrick’s finally off to get his plan started for the engagement tonight. First, Patrick goes to the jewelers to pick up the rings. They look perfect, just like his silver ones. He can’t wait to see the look on David’s face when he sees them. 

Next, Patrick goes to get some flowers, candles, chocolate, wine, and the ingredients he’s missing to make dinner. 

He heads back to his apartment and puts everything away before he gets to cleaning - he cleans the entire apartment. He sets up the table with a nice table cloth, sets up the candles throughout the apartment - at the table, on the fireplace, in the bedroom. 

He has some time to kill before having to shower and start dinner before David’s supposed to get here so he checks in with work, they need him to start back in on Monday and he tells them he has a wedding to plan so he was able to get them to be lenient with him for the next three weeks while he plans his wedding. 

Patrick’s just finishing up with dinner when there’s a knock at his door. He goes to answer it and sees David standing there looking gorgeous as always. He’s wearing these tight black jeans with rips in the knees and a black fuzzy sweater and the bottom half is purple. “Hi,” He says as he steps aside to let him in. “You look great,” He adds after closing the door and kissing him on the cheek.

“Thanks,” David says as he puts his bag down on the ground near the door, always prepared. “So do you.” 

Patrick’s got on jeans and a purple button down shirt. He smiles at him as he makes his way into the kitchen. “Would you like some wine?”

“Yes, please,” David says as he follows him. 

Patrick pours them a glass of red wine each and he clinks his glass against his. They take a sip and Patrick says, “I made us dinner, I thought we could spend the night here tonight, just the two of us.”

David smiles at him as he puts his glass down and walks over to him. He puts his hands on his shoulders and says, “That sounds perfect.” He kisses him softly on the lips and pulls back. “What did you make? It smells great.”

They sit down to eat and David tells him about his day, how he and Alexis argued but she was actually a lot more helpful than he thought she would be. They were able to make a list of everything they’ll need for the wedding and then the two of them could get started on making some calls. 

When they finish dinner and they’re both just silently looking at the other, Patrick decides this is as good a time as any to do it so he reaches his hand over to take David’s. He says as he strokes his thumb against his soft skin, “David, these past days with you have been the best of my life. I can’t believe how lucky I am to have met you in the experiment and make such a deep, emotionally meaningful connection with you.” David squeezes his hand and looks at him with soft eyes, _fond_. He continues, “The day I asked you to marry me was the most terrified I’ve ever been. I thought that there was no way this amazing man would say yes to me after only having spoken to me for five days, but you did. And now-” Patrick moves off his chair to kneel on one knee in front of David grabbing the box out from under his chair and holding it up in front of David. He opens the box and sees the look he couldn’t wait to see. David makes a noise that’s a happy sob and he’s smiling so big. Patrick can’t help but let the tears fall as he smiles back at the man he loves. “David Rose, I love you so much, will you marry me?”

“Yes, I love you,” David says excitedly, the tears flowing but his smile so wide. They both stand and hug each other tightly, Patrick kissing the side of David’s neck. 

David pulls back to kiss him hard on the lips. “I love you,” Patrick says against his lips.

Patrick opens the box again and David smiles down at them. “I can’t believe you did this,” He says shaking his head slightly. “I love it.”

Patrick smiles and says, “May I?”

David nods and holds out his left hand to him. Patrick slides one onto his ring finger then David tells him where to put the other three - another on his ring finger, and one on his index and middle. David removes his silver rings and puts them into the box. 

They clear their plates and as they stand in the kitchen together, Patrick turns to look at him and says, “I have dessert for us.”

David walks towards him and runs his hands up his chest and around his neck as he leans down and kisses him hard on the lips. Patrick’s hands move on instinct to wrap around his waist and pull him closer to him. David slips his tongue into his mouth and Patrick moans into the kiss. David kisses down his jaw to his neck and Patrick breathes out, “I guess no dessert.”

“Later,” David says against his neck. “Take me to your bed, Patrick.” Before Patrick can respond, David is taking his hand and they’re walking. Patrick’s brain catches up and leads them to his room where he also set up some candles that are lighting the room in mood lighting.

David looks around and goes to sit on the edge of the bed. He looks up at Patrick and hooks his finger telling him to come closer. 

Patrick makes his way over to him and stands in between his open legs. David runs his hands up Patrick’s back and back down before untucking his shirt from his jeans and working his belt open. Patrick starts to unbutton his shirt as David gets his fly down. Patrick puts his hands over David’s to still him before he gets him totally naked while he’s still fully dressed. 

Patrick toys with the hem of David’s sweater. David takes the hint and pulls off his sweater carefully lying it down on the bed next to him. Patrick removes his shirt letting it fall to the ground. He steps back and pulls his jeans off and his socks, standing in front of David in just his blue briefs. David watches him before standing and removing his jeans as well. Patrick takes David’s clothes and carefully folds them and puts them on the chair. 

David sits back against the headboard watching Patrick as he starts to crawl up the bed towards him. He kisses him on the lips and lets his weight settle on top of David. 

David mumbles against his lips, “I left my bag by the door.”

“I’ll grab it,” Patrick says before kissing him on the lips and hoping off the bed. He’s back in a flash, putting the bag down next to the bed before settling back on the bed with David. 

David gets on top of Patrick, settling between his legs as he kisses him sweetly before deepening the kiss, letting his tongue tease him. Patrick’s hands move up and down David’s bare back, loving the feel of his muscles moving under his touch, how strong and steady he feels on top of him. David moves his lips across his jaw and to his neck, kissing down to just below his collarbone where he sucks a small mark into his skin. He kisses his chest and starts to move down but Patrick stops him. He flips them over and swallows David’s little gasp in a kiss. 

Patrick wants to get his mouth on him, needs to feel him under his lips, in his mouth. He kisses his neck and down to his chest where he flicks his tongue across his nipple making David moan and shudder at the touch. Patrick does it again and gets the same reaction. He sucks it into his mouth as he caresses the side of David’s body with his hand before moving to the next nipple and giving it the same treatment. 

David’s moaning and the sounds are getting Patrick so hot, he feels the precome wet the front of his briefs. Patrick kisses down his body until he gets to the waistband of David’s black designer briefs. He takes David into his hand through his boxers and feels the wetness at the tip of his boxers where his cock is hard and leaking. He feels his hard length and it feels so good and the sounds David makes are so hot. Patrick lowers David’s briefs as he lifts his hips up to help him and he tosses them at the edge of the bed. Patrick looks down at David’s hard cock laying against his belly. His mouth pools with saliva and he licks his lips as he watches David’s cock twitch under his gaze.

Patrick looks at David’s face and he’s biting his bottom lip watching him. Patrick licks up the underside of David’s dick and David moans softly. Patrick takes hold of the base of his cock as he holds it straight before licking the slit at the head before swirling his tongue around it, collecting the precome onto his tongue. He takes the head of his dick into his mouth and starts to lower his mouth over him. David’s hand is running through the short hairs on Patrick’s head, slowly, softly, non-urgent. Patrick feels a confidence when David spreads his legs wider and moans when he hums around his dick, feeling it twitch in his mouth. He sucks him down a bit more before going back up and off, twirling his tongue around him.

“You feel so good, baby,” David tells him, watching him. “You look so good with my cock in that pretty little mouth.”

Patrick takes him back into his mouth and preens at the wanton noise David makes. Patrick is straining in his briefs trying not to rut against the mattress. 

Patrick let’s go of his cock with a pop before making his way back up his body. David kisses him hard on the mouth, his hands grabbing his ass before slipping into his briefs and grabbing him hard, pulling him against him. Their hard cocks rubbing against each other. Patrick moans into the kiss, he pulls back enough to look at David in the eyes and says softly, “I’m ready for more, David.”

David looks at him, taken aback, he shakes his head slightly. “Are you sure?” He asks softly.

Patrick smiles at him before kissing him on the lips. “Very sure, I need to be inside of you, like now, David,” He tells him in his ear before nipping at his earlobe.

David moans, hips bucking up into him. “Yes, okay, yeah, I’d like that very much, um, I just need to -” 

Patrick moves off of David so he could bend down and look through his bag. He sits back up and puts a condom and a small bottle of lube on the mattress next to them. Patrick looks at the items before looking back at David. He wants this. He knows he does. He’s ready and he can’t wait.

Patrick takes David’s face in his hand, his thumb lightly running across his jaw before he closes the distance between them, kissing him on the lips, tongue gently teasing them open. Patrick’s straddling David’s hips, their cocks move against each other as he rocks against him. 

Patrick moves lower on the bed giving David room to lie back down. Patrick gets in between David’s open legs and kisses his hip bone before sucking lightly, teasing him, knowing he wants his lips and mouth a bit lower. Patrick kisses down his thigh making David breathe heavily. Patrick licks the underside of his cock again making David take a sharp breath in. Patrick grabs the lube from where it’s sitting next to David’s hip. He puts some on his fingers and teasingly runs his index finger across David’s hole. 

Patrick watches as it puckers, waiting for him to breach. Patrick sees that David’s relaxed so he inserts his finger and watches as it disappears and David moan above him, watching him. Patrick fucks David slowly with one finger before adding another. David moans at the contact and Patrick can’t help but watch as his fingers go in and out of him. 

Patrick crooks his fingers and David’s back arches off the bed and a louder moan escapes him. “ _Mmm, yeah_ , right there, baby, so good,” David babbles as he fucks himself back onto Patrick’s fingers. 

Patrick feels his cock leaking onto the mattress, he’s getting embarrassingly close to coming just from fingering David open. He adds in another finger and massages that same spot making David cry out in pleasure.

“I’m good, _fuck Patrick_ ,” David moans. “Need you now, please.”

Patrick moans at that - hearing David beg for him, _fuck_. Patrick pulls his fingers out slowly before opening the condom and rolling it onto his hard cock. He puts a bit more lube in his hand and strokes himself. He lines up with David and kisses him hard on the lips as he starts to slowly enter him.

David moans into the kiss as Patrick bottoms out. “ _Mmm,_ you feel so good,” He says.

Patrick lets his forehead rest against David’s as he slowly pulls out and pushes back in. “You feel amazing, baby,” Patrick says before kissing the side of his neck, inhaling his scent.

Patrick starts fucking him harder, deeper, and the noises of appreciation from David spurs him. “This isn’t gonna last long,” Patrick warns. “You feel so good, _fuck, David_.”

“It’s okay, I’m close, fuck me harder, Patrick,” David tells him, his nails scratching down his back to his ass where he pulls him in deeper, legs wrapped around him. David takes his cock into his hand and strokes it where there’s some space in between their bodies.

Patrick watches David jerk himself and the sight is too beautiful with the way he’s also clenching around him, Patrick buries his face in David’s neck and moans his name as he comes hard inside him. David is right there with him coming hard over his fist in between them.

Patrick slowly pulls out, holding onto the condom before tying it off. He plops down onto the mattress next to David before turning his head to look at him. They both smile at each other and try to regain their breathing. Patrick kisses David’s shoulder before getting up. “One minute,” He tells him before disappearing out of the room.

He tosses the condom in the trash before wetting a cloth with warm water and brings it back to the bedroom to clean David off. Once they're cleaned, Patrick pulls the covers back and they both get in under them. He leans on his elbow and looks down at David. He runs his hand across his jaw and down his chest, leaving it there above his heart. “That was amazing, David,” He tells him with a shy smile.

“It was,” David agrees with his own shy smile as he looks up at him. “What made you decide that you were ready?”

“You,” Patrick says quickly. “You’ve been so understanding and patient. You make me feel safe and want to try things with me I’ve never done but only if I’m comfortable. No one’s ever treated me with such respect and taking what I want into consideration. Plus, just seeing the engagement rings on you and knowing we are getting married soon, I just knew I was ready for this step with you.”

There’s a couple of tears sliding down the side of David’s face but he has a smile on and he reaches up with his hand to caress Patrick’s face before pulling him down into a sweet embrace. The kiss is full of love and promise, Patrick melts right into it. When he pulls back David says, “I will always treat you with respect and take what you want into consideration. We’re a team, partners - what you want and need, matters a lot to me.”

Patrick looks at him under his lashes, he feels his cheeks turn pink so he dips down to kiss him one more time. “Thank you, David,” He says softly.

David shakes his head slightly. “Um, can we have some dessert now?” He asks, making Patrick chuckle.

“C’mon,” Patrick says as he gets out of bed. David smiles as they both put on their pajamas before heading out to the living room. David sits on the sofa as Patrick gets them their chocolate lava cakes before joining him on the sofa.

DAVID

David wakes up feeling really happy. He feels Patrick pressed against his back, arm wrapped around him with his hand holding his. David’s never been this happy before. He’s found real love - one that is true and unconditional. Patrick proposed to him _again_ with four gold rings identical to the silver ones he wore every day for decades. He told Patrick what they meant to him back in the experiment and he retained that information to make exact copies of them to propose to him with. He smiles to himself thinking about how sweet and thoughtful the man holding him is. 

David turns around to face him making him stir awake. Patrick blinks his eyes open and smiles the sweetest little smile at him when his eyes focus on him. “Mornin,” Patrick says softly.

“Good morning,” David says. He leans forward and kisses him softly on the lips, pressing himself completely against him.

Patrick moans into the kiss, hand coming up to David’s hip, moving slowly underneath his t-shirt up his smooth skin. 

David’s phone starts ringing where it lies on the bedside table. He groans as he shoots a glare at it. Patrick chuckles and says, “You should get that. I gotta go pee anyway.”

“Sexy,” David tells him as he reaches over to grab his phone. He groans seeing it’s his parents.

“Hello?” He answers it before it goes to voicemail and Patrick slips out of the room.

“David, it’s your father,” Johnny says.

David rolls his eyes. “Yeah, I know, I have caller i.d.,” He tells him.

“David?” He hears his mother say loudly.

“Oh my God, what is it? Why are you calling me so early?” David asks, getting more annoyed by the second.

“David, it’s past ten o’clock,” His dad tells him. “Were you still sleeping?”

“Mhm, what do you want?” He asks.

“We’re getting into Toronto around three o’clock. We should do dinner so we could meet your - what’s his name?” His dad asks.

“Patrick,” David tells him.

“Right, yes, so we could meet Patrick,” Johnny says. 

Patrick’s back in bed next to him and watching as David listens to his dad. He says, “Hold on,” into the phone then mutes it to say to Patrick, “My parents want to do dinner tonight.”

“That’s great, at your place or?” Patrick asks.

“I - I don’t know, they’ve never been to my place. Um, should we just go to a restaurant?” David asks but his face twists up, unsure of his own suggestion. _My family in public together just spells disaster_ , David thinks.

“They should see your place, David. Invite them over, we’ll cook,” Patrick tells him with a reassuring hand on his arm.

David smiles at him. “That’s sweet you think I’m going to cook,” He says, making Patrick chuckle. “Are you sure?”

“Definitely,” Patrick tells him. 

David unmutes his call and tells his dad, “Why don’t you guys come to my place? Patrick’s going to cook.”

“Oh! Well, that sounds great. We’ve never seen your place, David,” Johnny comments. 

“A man who can cook, you found yourself a keeper, my dear,” Moira says from a distance.

“Okay so see you at seven?” David says but it comes out as a question.

“That works, see you then, son!” Johnny says before they hang up the call. David texts them his address so they know where to go before tossing his phone down on the bed with a sigh.

“You did good, babe,” Patrick teases.

“Mhm, is there any coffee?” David asks as he starts to make a move out of bed.

*

After breakfast, David and Patrick head to the store to get what they need for dinner, stopping by the liquor store for more wine, and Patrick also wants to stop by the flower shop again to get some for David’s mom. They head back to David’s apartment where they hang out before having to shower and get ready before getting started on cooking dinner. 

Of course they’re late but they finally arrive. David opens the door to see his dad, of course in a suit, and his mom, of course overdressed but fabulous nonetheless. “Hi,” He says to them as he steps aside to let them in. 

Moira air kisses him before his dad taps him on the shoulder. Alexis comes over to hug their dad and air kiss their mom. “Oh, Alexis, you’re still here too,” Moira says. 

“Um, yeah, I told you guys I’ll be here until after their wedding,” Alexis tells them.

Patrick comes to join them in the hall with the flowers in hand, shy little smile in place. “Okay,” David says as Patrick comes to stand next to him. He puts his hand on his shoulder and says, “Mom, dad, this is Patrick, my fiancé.” 

“It’s so nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Rose,” Patrick says. “These are for you,” He adds, handing the flowers to Moira before offering his hand to Johnny. 

“Thank you, dear, how lovely,” Moira says, as she looks at the flowers. “These are my favorite.” Patrick smiles, pink tint coloring his cheeks. David was definitely a help in the flower shop. 

“Well, dinner should be ready any minute, would you like something to drink in the meantime?” Patrick offers like a good little host.

“Some wine would be lovely,” Moira says. She hands David the flowers so he goes to put them down on the counter in the kitchen and help Patrick get them some drinks. 

They take their seats at the table when David comes in to pour them all a glass of wine. Patrick, in the kitchen finishing up on dinner. 

“David, could you give me a hand?” Patrick calls. David goes over to help him bring the dishes to the table - he made caramelized onions and carrots, roast chicken, mashed potatoes, and some asparagus. 

Once everything is settled on the table, Patrick lifts his glass and says, “I’d like to make a toast, to my wonderful partner, David, without you, I don’t know what I would do. And to Mr. and Mrs. Rose, thank you for being here.”

“Cheers,” They say as they clink their glasses together.

They put their food on their plates and Johnny says, “This all looks delicious, Patrick.”

“Mhmm,” Alexis hums as she scoops a bit of mashed potatoes onto her plate.

David squeezes Patrick’s knee under the table before rubbing a soothing hand on his thigh. Patrick looks at him with a sweet smile, David winks at him.

The dinner goes well, everyone enjoys the amazing meal Patrick made. David’s parents asked Patrick about work, his family, hobbies, friends, and some inappropriate questions like about past relationships and sexual partners, and his sexuality. Patrick reassured him all was okay when David protested the questions. Patrick politely answered them all and by the end he saw his parents share an approving look to one another.

Patrick stands to clear the dishes when David stops him. “You cooked, Alexis and I will clean, why don’t you guys go sit in the living room?” He suggests shocking himself a little by letting the three of them go off together.

“That sounds great, son,” Johnny says as he stands. “Darling?” He offers his arm to his wife.”

“Why don’t you and Pat go? I’ll help the children,” Moira tells him.

“No, we’re not doing Pat,” David tells her as he grabs the plates and heads into the kitchen. 

Patrick chuckles. He and Johnny take their wine glasses and head into the living room. 

Moira just refills her glass before going into the kitchen to watch David and Alexis bring all the dishes in. Alexis rinses them off before handing them to David who puts them in the dishwasher. 

“You found yourself a good man, David,” Moira tells him as she leans against the kitchen island.

David looks at her, wary, unsure before saying, “Thanks.” 

“Alexis was right, he is a _button_ ,” She says.

“Okay,” David says, wanting her to stop now. 

Once everything's cleaned, they head into the living room to join the other two. David sits next to Patrick who takes his hand and squeezes it. “So how is the wedding planning coming along?” Johnny asks looking at the two of them.

“Alexis and I just started mapping everything out. Patrick and I are going to start making calls tomorrow,” David tells him.

“If you need anything from us, don’t hesitate, we would love to help. We’ve also got a little nest egg set aside for your wedding, David,” Johnny tells him.

“What? Really?” David asks in complete shock. He looks to his mom then his dad. “Why didn’t you ever tell me that?” He asks.

“So that you could use it on something else? I don’t think so. This was set up for nuptials not another nose job,” Moira says flippantly. 

David groans and Patrick chuckles beside him. He squeezes his hand before bringing it to his lips and kissing him once. “Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Rose, that means a lot,” Patrick says. He looks to David expectantly.

David looks to his parents and says, “Thank you.”

“My parents also have some set aside for me so this should really help us out,” Patrick tells him. 

“You didn’t tell me that, I’m going to need to call your mom,” David says. Patrick smiles at him, nodding. 

They talk for a while more before deciding to call it a night, Moira and Johnny are a bit jet lagged. 

“How long are you in town?” Patrick asks them as they walk them to the door.

“Just a few more days but we will be back for the wedding,” Johnny tells them.

“We should do this again with my parents. It would be great for everyone to meet before the wedding,” Patrick suggests.

“That sounds wonderful, Patrick, just give us a call,” Johnny says. “David, let us know if you need any help with anything while we’re still here, we’d love to help any way we can.”

“Yes, as your father said,” Moira says as she steps up to David to kiss his cheek. She goes to Patrick and does the same, and she tells him, “We very much look forward to seeing you again soon, Patrick.”

“Thank you, so am I. We’ll call you,” Patrick says with a small blush on his cheeks, polite little smile in place.

“Bye,” David says as they finally usher them out and close the door behind them. “Are you sure your parents are ready to meet mine?” He asks Patrick when he turns to look at him.

“Of course, that went well, don’t you think?” Patrick asks, a little unsure but seemingly confident enough.

“It went very well, I just don’t want my parents to scare yours and them not want you to marry into my crazy family,” David says as he puts his hands on Patrick’s shoulders.

Patrick puts his hands on David’s waist and looks up at him with those soft hazel eyes. He says, “That won’t happen. My parents love you, and they’ll love your family too.”

David rolls his eyes and says, “I hope you’re right.” Patrick leans in and kisses him with steady, soft lips. 

“So am I invited to this meeting too?” Alexis asks from where she went to get cozy on the sofa. 

Patrick pulls back from David to look back at her. “Of course, you are, Alexis, you’re family,” He says.

Alexis smiles and shakes her head from side to side. “So their energies were like quite draining tonight, do you guys wanna get high?” She asks with a flip of her hand.

“Yes,” David answers quickly. “Let me just go change.” He pulls Patrick with him. 

Once the three of them are in their coziest clothes on the sofa, Alexis packs David’s pipe and takes the first long hit before passing it to David. 

David takes a long hit before holding the pipe back to Alexis and takes Patrick’s face in his hand and blows the smoke into his mouth, lips gently touching his. Patrick inhales, holds it for a beat, then lets the smoke out. Alexis passes him the pipe where he does the same thing back to David.

Sufficiently high, the three of them watch a true crime documentary. David and Patrick are half paying attention since David’s hand is teasing Patrick under the blanket, up and down his thigh slowly, getting too close to where he’s getting hard in his jeans. 

Alexis starts to drift off so she gets up and says she’s going to bed so they close the TV and head to bed too.

David and Patrick grind against each other through their clothes, hot and desperate for each other as they tease and taste each other. They come hard in their pajama pants with low moans into the others mouth. They lazily toss their pants to the ground, as well as their t-shirts, opting to sleep nude since they’re too high to get up and change into new pajamas. 

David curls himself around Patrick, wanting to spoon him tonight. Patrick pulls David’s arm tighter around him and holds his hand, pulling it up to his lips to kiss him. 

David kisses the side of Patrick’s neck and breathes him in - he smells like weed, sex, and _Patrick_ , such a wonderful scent. “I love you,” He mumbles into his hair at the back of his neck.

“I love you,” Patrick says back sleepily before they both drift off.


	11. Wedding Planning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David gets a surprise visitor. David and Patrick tour wedding venues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I hope you're all doing well!  
> Today is a bit sad for me, I was supposed to be in New Orleans and would have had my Noah concert tonight. Obviously, that didn't get to happen and instead I'm at work, what fun. Anyway, I have seen the end of the tunnel with this fic and there will be two more chapters. Thank you all so much for following along and leaving me comments, they mean so much! I love you all, hope you enjoy this chapter! 💖

PATRICK

Today is a busy day. It’s Monday morning and Patrick is heading back into work. He also has plans to start looking for a new place for him and David to live. They agreed that Patrick’s apartment is too small so Patrick is not going to renew his contract when it is up in a few months so until then he’s forced to keep the apartment. At least it gives him a place to keep his things until they find their own place. David’s place is spacious but it doesn’t feel like a home for them to spend the rest of their lives in. 

Patrick kisses a sleepy David goodbye as he leaves his bedroom to head back to his apartment to get dressed in his more professional clothes - a light blue button down shirt tucked into his jeans with a belt and some black shoes. He puts on his darker blue jacket and heads off to work. 

It’s great to be back, he’s missed this. Spreadsheets and data entry, looking over numbers and budgets - it’s his safe space. There’s quite a bit of work to catch up on since he’s been away so he gets started immediately. 

During his lunch, he stays at his desk eating a sandwich he prepared while going over some budgeting for the wedding. He looks over everything David gave him concerning the wedding - venue, flower arrangements, catering, open bar, lights, and so on and so forth. There’s _a lot_ that goes into planning a wedding. He’s glad that David also has help from Alexis and his mom to help work out these details. Patrick’s really excited to help David plan their wedding as well. He gets it done during his hour lunch before emailing it back to David. David emails him back a string of heart emojis with a ‘THANK YOU, LOVE YOU’, it makes Patrick grin ear to ear. With the budgeting for their wedding done, David just needs to start looking into places that fit their budget so they can get everything else done and ready for the wedding that will need to happen in less than three weeks. 

DAVID

David reaches his arm out for Patrick and is met with an empty bed. _Oh right, work_. He slowly blinks his eyes open as he stretches in bed, twisting and turning into different positions before getting out of bed. 

He sits at the table with his coffee and a bagel and turns his laptop on. He texts Cory to check in with the gallery - all is well and he can spend his day doing wedding stuff so that’s what he does. He sends Patrick everything that needs to get done for the wedding and waits for Patrick to send him the budget. They have two nest eggs from both of their parents and it should be enough to cover the entire wedding fund. David has big plans for this wedding but because of the time constraint he might need to reel it in a bit. As he waits for Patrick to send him back the budget for each section of the wedding plans, David gets started on looking at venues. He has a rough idea of the budget since they went over it yesterday when they got both the checks from their parents. 

David’s phone rings, seeing it’s Cory he picks up instantly, wondering what could be so urgent for a phone call when they just spoke not long ago over text. “Hello?” He answers.

“Hi David, sorry to interrupt you but there’s a woman here looking for you, she says her name is Stevie,” Cory tells him.

David squeals so not expecting this. “Oh my _God_! Finally, put her on,” He tells him.

“Hey,” Stevie says into the phone. “Where are you?”

“I’m at home,” David tells her. “So it’s finally done, you’re out. Are you engaged?” 

Stevie laughs. “Can I come over?” She asks, avoiding the question.

“You’re being sketchy but fine, Cory will give you my address. See you soon,” He says before hanging up. 

David goes to his room to get ready since he can’t well meet Stevie in person for the first time in his pajamas. It doesn’t take long to get here from his gallery so he opts for just a quick face wash before getting dressed, and soon enough there’s a knock on his door.

David opens the door to a petite brunette with big dark eyes, long brown hair, dressed in jeans, a tank top under a blue flannel shirt. “Hi,” He says with a smile.

“Hi,” She says, both realizing it’s them from hearing each other’s voices. “You gonna let me in or…?”

“Mhm, yes,” David says, stepping out of the way to let her in before closing the door. “So, um, welcome.” 

Stevie looks around and says, “Nice place.”

“Thanks,” He says, leading her back to where he was sitting at the dining table. She sits down and he offers her something to drink or eat. He brings her some coffee and takes his place back behind his laptop. “So,” He says simply, head in his hand as he looks at her.

Stevie rolls her eyes and says, “Well, I’m not engaged,” as she flashes her hand with no ring on it.

David pouts. “I’m sorry?” He says and it comes out as a question.

“It’s fine, I couldn’t see myself marrying any one of those people. I did tell a couple people my full name and told them to look me up so we’ll see,” She explains. David nods. “So tell me about you and Patrick, where is he anyway?”

David smiles at the mention of his fiancé. “First day back to work,” David informs her. “You can meet him tonight if you’d like to stay for dinner?”

“Sure,” She says. 

“Great, um, so wedding planning is underway, I’m waiting for him to send me back the budget for everything. I did have a question for you though…” David trails off.

“Okay… what is it?” She asks skeptically.

“Would you be my maid of honor?” He asks quickly not to lose his nerve.

Stevie looks taken aback, she asks, “Are you sure? I’m not really - you don’t want to ask someone else?”

David shakes his head, “No,” He says, “I’d really like for you to be my maid of honor.”

“Okay,” She says with a small smile. 

David’s mouth twists up to the side trying not to grin too wide. He says, “Great. Um so my sister is in town and is staying with me until the wedding so you’ll meet her whenever she decides to come out here.”

“ _Oh_ so the sister you were constantly bailing out of sticky situations and don’t really get along with?” She asks even though she knows the answer.

“Yes, that is the one,” David says dryly.

They hear footsteps and soon Alexis is walking into the kitchen in small booty shorts and a tank top with her pink satin robe on left open. “Morning,” She says before seeing Stevie. “Oh hi.”

“Hi,” Stevie says looking her over. David is not pleased by that look in Stevie’s eye. 

“This is Stevie,” David introduces. “Stevie, that is my sister, Alexis.”

“Oh the maid of honor,” Alexis says with a smile, shaking her head slightly side to side as she makes her way over. “It’s nice to meet you,” She adds leaning down to kiss Stevie on both cheeks.

“Um, yeah you too,” Stevie says after a moment, slightly shaken. 

David gives Stevie a look and she just glares back at him. “Are you doing wedding stuff right now?” Alexis asks looking over David’s shoulder at his open laptop.

“About to. I was checking out some wedding venues before Stevie got here. I’m waiting for Patrick to send me back the budget for everything,” David tells her.

After Alexis grabs a mug of coffee, she joins them at the table. David shows Stevie the list of things that are needed to get done for the wedding that he and Alexis prepared the other day. 

David receives the email from Patrick that he was waiting on and the three of them get to work on calling venues in their budget. There are only a couple options for venues for the date they want so they make appointments for tomorrow to go and see them once Patrick finishes work at five. They look beautiful online so David really hopes they look as nice in person. 

David texts Patrick to let him know.

 **David:** We have 2 appts tmr for wedding venues

 **Patrick:** What time?

 **David:** One is at 6 and the other is at 8

 **Patrick:** Sounds good

 **David:** Stevie is here, she’s gonna stick around today so you’ll meet her when you get home

 **David:** I mean, to my place

 **Patrick:** Home part 2 ;)

 **Patrick:** Can’t wait to meet her. Babe, I’m really busy so I’ll talk to you later.

 **David:** Ok, love you

 **Patrick:** Love you 

PATRICK

The rest of the work day goes by in a flash. Being busy always makes the day go by quickly. Patrick texts David that he’s finished work and he’ll be over in about an hour. He heads to his apartment to shower and change before packing a bag for David’s. 

He lets himself into the apartment and sees the three of them in the living room.

“You’re home,” David says excitedly as he gets up and meets Patrick in the hallway. He wraps his arms around his neck, kissing him softly. Patrick drops his bag in favor of taking David into his arms, loving this warm welcome. 

“Hi,” Patrick says when they pull apart from the kiss.

“Hi,” David says. “Come meet Stevie,” He adds, taking Patrick’s hand and leading him to the living room. “Patrick, this is Stevie.”

Stevie looks up at him and says, “Hi.”

“Hi, it’s nice to finally meet you in person, Stevie,” Patrick says with a smile. They spoke once in the experiment - they got along, laughed and seemed to connect on a friendship level. Patrick hopes that’s true, he definitely wants to be friends with David’s new best friend.

“So we ordered some Chinese food, it should be here soon,” David tells him, hands rubbing his shoulders. 

“Sounds good,” Patrick says. He turns to peck David on the cheek before going to grab his bag and leave it in David’s room. 

The food arrives shortly and the four of them eat in the living room as they watch a movie on Netflix - well, it’s on in the background since they are talking mostly about the wedding and the planning. 

*

Another quick work day and then Patrick is off to pick everyone up at David’s to go check out the two wedding venues. 

They get to their first venue right on time and are greeted at the door with some champagne flutes. David likes it, if his whole body wiggle is any indication. 

They tour the venue and it looks beautiful. It doesn’t really matter where he and David get married, as long as at the end of it all he gets to tell David how much he means to him and be pronounced husbands. All the details until then can be chosen by David, as long as he’s happy then he’ll be happy.

“What do you think?” David asks Patrick as they overlook a beautiful garden. David really wants an outdoor wedding. 

“I think it’s beautiful, David. If you’re happy then I’m happy,” He tells him, kissing him softly on the cheek.

David does another full body wiggle and Patrick can’t help but grin. David tells the woman that they have another appointment to make but they will call her tomorrow with their answer. 

The next venue looks beautiful as well, it’s not as grand, and there isn’t an option for an outdoor wedding. David seems to really love everything about this venue apart from the outdoor option. The price for both is in their budget, it just depends on everything else and what David prefers. 

Patrick plops down onto David’s bed and hears a small chuckle from him. He turns just his head to look at his fiancé and mumbles, “What’s so funny?”

“You,” David says. “You’re so cute when you’re tired.” He changes into his pajamas before going over to kiss Patrick on the cheek. He disappears out of the room to do his nightly skin routine. 

Patrick lies there a few more minutes before getting up and changing for bed. He goes into the washroom after David before _finally_ climbing into bed with him. He snuggles in close, inhaling his scent, nose and mouth pressed up against his neck.

David pulls him in closer, kissing the top of his head, and wrapping his arm around him. “So which venue did you like best? They’re both so beautiful and are available for September 3rd,” David says softly after a few moments of silence.

Patrick kisses his neck and says, “David, whichever one you liked is the one we’ll pick. I thought they were both great. I just want to be your husband, all the other stuff is extra.”

David rubs his arm gently, feather light touches. “I just want to be your husband too, but I’ve dreamt of having the perfect wedding even though I had no clue if that would ever happen for me. Now it’s happening and I want it to be perfect,” David tells him.

Patrick looks up at him and says, “It will be.”

David kisses him softly on the lips. Patrick presses into it, hand running up his chest and to the side of his neck, pulling him in and deepening the kiss. He pulls back after a moment and David says softly, “I want to marry you at the first one we saw.”

“Then that is where we will get married,” Patrick states before kissing David’s smile. David kisses him back full of passion and love. 

They get into their familiar position, Patrick spooning David. David holds Patrick’s hand over his heart and kisses his knuckles. Patrick snuggles in closer, pulling David in more, even though there’s nowhere else to go. He knows that David is feeling a lot of emotions right now because he feels them too. He’s finally able to live his life the way he wants with the partner he knows will always respect and love him, someone he would climb a thousand mountains for. David’s had a rough road in finding love and so has Patrick. They finally found it and it is _true_ \- true love, that soulmate stuff people talk about in movies and television. Patrick’s found the person who makes him want to be the best version of himself, someone who loves him unconditionally. 

Patrick kisses David’s neck and whispers, “Goodnight, David.” 

“Goodnight, Patrick,” David whispers back.

Smiling contently, Patrick falls asleep to the sound of his partner, the love of his life, breathing in and out, in and out.


	12. The Wedding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's David and Patrick's wedding day!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the 2nd to last chapter. Thank you all so much for following along and leaving comments, it means so so much to me! I love you all so much, I hope you are staying safe. I've taken some canon lines and used them in this chapter. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy! ❤️

DAVID

The last two weeks flew by as he and Patrick, with the help of Stevie and Alexis, planned their wedding. The day has arrived for him to marry Patrick. They spent last night apart, Patrick sleeping at his apartment, and David staying on his own, so David woke up this morning alone in bed. He’s spent every night since leaving the experiment with Patrick so when he woke up and felt the empty space next to him he remembered that today was his wedding day. A grin formed on his face despite the early hour just thinking about seeing Patrick in his tux waiting for him at the altar. 

David has a lot to do today before getting to their venue. Stevie shows up right as he’s finishing up in the washroom so the two of them and Alexis have breakfast. David takes a shower before they get everything they need and head to the venue. They have a private suite where they can get ready for the day. Patrick also has his own private suite as well for him to get ready. 

Just as David is setting his things down in the suite, he gets a text. 

**Patrick:** I missed you this morning but I cannot wait to marry you in a few short hours. I love you, David. 

David smiles down at his phone. He still can’t believe how fast this all happened. He’s known Patrick a little over a month and here they are about to get married. However, David isn’t nervous about it. Well, he is nervous but it’s an excited nervous energy flowing through him. An anticipation. He knew from the first moment they spoke that this - _them_ together, would be different than any of his past failed relationships. He knew that Patrick was different right away. He was nice, generous, patient, intelligent, funny, he teased him like nobody else has. Patrick is his soulmate and he cannot wait to be his husband.

 **David:** I love you. I can’t wait to be your husband. 

The text back is almost immediate.

 **Patrick:** Husband. God, David. I just got chills. Is it time yet? 

David chuckles softly. 

**David:** Soon, baby. I need to get pretty for you so I will see you soon, my husband to be.

Patrick’s text back is a string of emoji’s; kissy faces and every heart color variation there is. 

David styled his hair before coming so he just does a light foundation to make sure his skin looks flawless and not blotchy, he wants perfect wedding photos. He waits to get dressed until the last minute so not to crease his tux. He mainly spends the time watching Stevie and Alexis get ready.

His parents show up just as he finishes putting his tux on and is straightening out his bowtie in the mirror. 

“Knock knock,” His mother says as they both enter the suite.

David turns to see them dressed impeccably - his father in a classic black suit and his mother in a beautiful black gown with gold trimmings and an almost floor length blond wig. His wedding is, of course, a black and white theme so he is very glad to see them both in black. 

Moira gasps when she sees him, hands coming up in a prayer formation up to her mouth. “Don’t you look handsome, like the day I married your father,” She says, making her way over and air kissing him on both cheeks.

“Thanks,” He replies. 

“The venue looks beautiful, son. We walked around a bit to check it out, it’s just lovely,” His father says beaming at him proudly. 

His parents say hi to Alexis and Stevie. Stevie is in a beautiful suit and Alexis is wearing a low cut black gown with an open back. They both look stunning. 

Their parents met Stevie about a week ago, they had a big family dinner - the Rose’s, Stevie, and the Brewer’s all together. It went a lot better than David expected it to go, worried that his parents (mother, especially) would be too eccentric for Marcy and Clint Brewer but they just seemed to love them all the more, laughing and being genuinely interested in all of Moira’s crazy stories. Alexis and Stevie, of course, won them both over as well, and even suggested talking with some of Patrick’s cousins at the wedding because according to Marcy ‘you are both way too beautiful to not be attached’. She’s right, they are, but he also doesn’t really want them to hook up with Patrick’s cousins just for the hell of it. He doesn’t want them to do anything that will ruin his - _their_ special day. 

They are told it’s time so they make their way out of the suite and towards the altar where David will make a lifetime commitment to the love of his life.

PATRICK

Waking up alone was weird. It hasn’t been long that they’ve been out of the experiment but he’s gotten so used to waking up next to David or with him in his arms. He has time so he doesn’t rush. Patrick takes a shower, has breakfast, and makes sure he has everything before he hears the honk outside that his parents are there. 

The three of them head to the venue together and into his suite. They leave him alone to get ready while they walk around and take everything in. 

Patrick texts David to tell him how excited he is to marry him. He still can’t believe that this is reality. He is going to become David Rose’s husband today. He thought that at some point in his life he would become some lovely girl’s husband but he never expected to become another man’s husband. He can’t help the grin that takes over his face at that thought. He went into the experiment knowing that you could speak to men and women, and what he expected - well, what he hoped was to make a genuine connection, and he did, just not with the gender that he expected. He’s so happy and proud of himself for giving it a chance and speaking to the men that were in the experiment because if he hadn’t he wouldn’t be here today and that thought makes Patrick extremely sad. He can’t imagine his life without David in it and he won’t have to ever imagine it because they are going to commit to a life together very soon. 

His parents knock on the door to see him looking at himself in the full length mirror in his tux. “Oh my sweet boy,” His mother says, coming up to stand next to him but a bit behind him, hand smoothing down his arm. “You look so handsome.”

“Thanks, mom,” Patrick says, turning to look at her with a smile.

“It’s about time, are you ready?” Clint asks him.

“I’ve never been more ready for anything in my life,” Patrick responds, making his parents both beam with pride. 

The music starts up and he walks down the aisle with his mom. His dad is his best man so he will be walking down the aisle very shortly with Stevie.

Patrick kisses his mom on the cheek and she goes to sit in the front row just in front of where Patrick stands near their pastor.

Next, Moira and Johnny Rose walk down the aisle together. Patrick smiles at them once they make eye contact and Moira blows him a kiss. He blushes and watches as they both take their seat on the other side in the front row.

Now it’s his dad and Stevie’s turn to walk down the aisle. Clint taking his spot next to Patrick and Stevie standing on the other side. She gives him a wink before they both turn their attention to where David and Alexis will be walking down the aisle.

Patrick doesn’t even know if he’s breathing as he waits for David to emerge. _Finally_ , as the music changes - they have a choir singing the songs for the ceremony - to their song, ‘The Best’, the doors open to reveal David, the love of his life, looking as beautiful as ever in his beautiful black tux/gown. He’s never seen someone so beautiful in his entire life and he gets to marry him, spend the rest of his life with him. 

A tear slips down his cheek as he grins making eye contact with David as he and Alexis walk down the aisle, arm in arm, David holding a beautiful white bouquet of roses in his free hand. 

David smiles at him softly before seeing everyone watching them walk down the aisle. 

DAVID

They finally get to where Patrick is standing and Alexis turns to face him and she hugs him tightly, David’s arms wrapping around her small frame. “I love you very much,” She whispers in his ear.

They pull back and David’s got tears in his eyes already. He takes Patrick’s outstretched hand and stands by his side. “Hi,” He says softly, squeezing his hand.

“Hi,” Patrick says back just as softly. They unlink hands and give their attention to the pastor.

The pastor smiles at them both before saying, “We are gathered here today to witness the holy union of David Rose and Patrick Brewer. Their journey in love started out unusually. Meeting during an experiment to test if love truly is blind. And here they are, ready to prove that love is blind. I’d like to give them both the chance to read the vows that they have prepared for today. Patrick, you may begin.”

They turn to face each other and Patrick looks at him with that soft tender look of his like he can’t believe this is his life. He smiles at him softly, tears filling both of their eyes as they look at each other so intently. “David,” He begins, voice a bit shaky. He takes a breath, a small shaky laugh escaping. “I can’t believe this is happening,” David smiles at him, willing the tears not to fall just yet. “I’m going to keep this very short because I think you already know that I would climb a thousand mountains for you.” David feels the tears slip down already, he loves this man so wholeheartedly he feels like he’s going to explode. “So I’ll just say this… _You will always be apart of me, and I’m part of you indefinitely,_ ” Patrick starts to sing and David all but loses it then and there, “ _Boy, don’t you know you can’t escape me, cause you know you’ll always be my baby,_ ” David can’t fight the tears anymore as he looks at his parents and sister beaming at him, tears in their own eyes. “ _And we'll linger on, time can't erase a feeling this strong, no way you're never gonna shake me, ooh darling 'cause you'll always be my baby_ ,” He finishes off and David chuckles lightly, tears free falling. 

They smile at each other before the pastor says, “David.” How is he supposed to follow that? Patrick just _sang Mariah Carey_ to him! In front of their family! 

“Yes?” He says making everyone laugh and he wipes away his tears. He turns back to look at Patrick and he sees his soft beautiful eyes looking at him like he hung the moon and the stars. “Patrick…” He starts and Patrick smiles at him so softly, giving him the courage to continue. “I’ve never liked a smile as much as I like yours. I’ve never felt as safe as I do when I’m with you. I’ve never known love like I have when we’re together,” He can hear his voice is shaky and he’s speaking through the tears but seeing Patrick smile at him, _God, that smile_ , makes it easier for him to open up and continue. “It’s not been an easy road for me but knowing that you will always be there for me at the end of it makes everything okay. Patrick Brewer, _you_ are my happy ending.” 

Patrick smiles at him, tears slipping down his face. He’s glad to know he’s not the only one crying through this.

“Patrick,” The pastor says, “Do you take David to be your lawfully wedded husband?” 

David slips the gold band on Patrick’s finger and Patrick looks him in the eyes and says, “I do.”

The pastor says, “David, do you take Patrick to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

Patrick slips the gold band onto his finger - the four gold engagement rings now home on his right hand. “I do,” He says with a proud smile, looking at the love of his life.

“I now pronounce you, husband and husband, you may now kiss each other,” The pastor says with a proud note in her voice. 

They immediately reach for each other, David taking hold of Patrick’s face as they meet for their first kiss as husbands before wrapping his arms around his neck and kissing him with all the love and passion he feels for this man. Patrick’s arms are around his waist, holding him close against him. 

They hear the cheering around them but David just feels so lost in Patrick, _his husband_. They pull back and look at each other, David’s hands rubbing up and down Patrick’s arms, he whispers, “I love you.”

“I love you,” Patrick whispers back before they turn to look at the crowd all standing and clapping for them. 

With their arms around each other, David takes his bouquet back from Alexis, and the two of them walk back down the aisle together as husbands. 

PATRICK

This is the best day of Patrick’s life. He got to marry the love of his life. They were in a private suite with the pastor and their witnesses - Stevie and Clint, as they signed their marriage license. Stevie makes a copy that will be sent to the experiment people to show them that what they were trying to prove is true. Love truly is blind.


	13. Happy Ending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David and Patrick celebrate their one year anniversary in their new home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's here, the final chapter. I want to say thank you thank you thank you to all of you who have been following this story every Monday, I appreciate you all SO much, it means the world to me that you've left me comments and kudos. And a thank you to all of you who have waited to read when it was completed, now's your shot hahah. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this final chapter! Stay safe, stay healthy, and stay indoors. Much love to you all! 💖

Patrick taps his fork against his wine glass as he stands. All eyes are finally on him and everyone has stopped their idle chatter. He clears his throat, looks at his husband on his left who’s looking up at him so softly and with a sweet smile on his face. “Before we get started on this meal, I just wanted to say on behalf of myself and David,” Patrick starts looking back at David with a small wink, “that we are so happy to have you all here in our new home. This past year has been the best of my life and I want to thank you all for being a part of it. Cheers!”

“Cheers!” Everyone says as they start to clink their glasses together. Patrick’s parents, David’s parents, Alexis, and Stevie are all here to celebrate their anniversary and looking at all their happy faces, sitting around their new table about to eat the first family meal together in David and Patrick’s new home, he couldn’t be happier. 

Johnny stands and clears his throat. “I’d just like to add something,” He starts to say and Patrick catches David rolling his eyes but still giving his full attention to his father. “Congratulations on making it to a year of marriage. We wish you a lifetime of happy anniversaries. We love you and we are so very proud of you both.” 

“Here, here!” Clint adds exuberantly making Patrick chuckle. 

As Johnny sits back down, he looks at David who whispers a ‘thank you’ and sees the proud smile on Johnny’s face. 

“Let’s eat,” Patrick says.

“Oh thank God,” David mumbles beside him. Patrick laughs and squeezes David’s knee.

*

With everyone finally gone and the house cleaned up, David and Patrick slip into bed in just their boxers. 

Patrick’s sitting up against the headboard as David cuddles up close to him. “That was a good night,” He comments.

Patrick hums. “It went very well,” he agrees. 

“And my mom didn’t get embarrassingly drunk tonight,” David says.

Patrick chuckles. “It was pretty funny to see our moms get drunk together.”

“Your mom’s tolerance is nonexistent compared to mine,” David says, trying not to laugh. “It was quite adorable.”

“I’m glad we did this. They were really happy to see the house,” Patrick says, hand running up and down David’s back.

“Mm, well I’m glad we did this too. I actually really liked having them all here, you know, _hosting_ , together,” David admits. Patrick’s about to say something but David puts a finger to his lips and says, “Not all the time though, don’t even try,” making Patrick laugh.

David can’t help the grin that spreads on his face. He moves his hand to cup the back of Patrick’s head and pulls him into a kiss. One of those soft, sweet kisses where they’re smiling a little too much to fully kiss properly, until it hurts more heated, passionate, full of love and lust, as they claw at each other, pulling the other on top as they get pushed back into the mattress.

David’s straddling Patrick’s hips, grinding down against him as he sucks a small mark into the skin below his collarbone. Patrick’s fingers run through David’s hair, thick and luscious, so curly and beautiful, as the other cups his cheek and moves down his neck and shoulder to his arm. 

David pulls back to look at Patrick’s white skin in contrast to the bright, bruising mark he just left on him. He smirks at him before continuing his path down, leaving open mouthed kisses all down his chest to his stomach and just above the waistband of his fitted blue boxer briefs, where he sees his husband's beautiful cock straining against the fabric. He slips his fingers into the waistband and Patrick lifts his hips to help David remove his briefs. 

Once Patrick is completely nude, David looks him up and down before taking his husband’s perfect cock in hand and squeezing it firmly eliciting a low moan from him. David looks up and sees Patrick watching him, bottom lip in between his teeth. David licks a stripe from base to tip on the underside of his hard cock. David swirls his tongue around the head, teasing him a bit before finally taking him completely in his mouth and sucking him down. 

Patrick moans, fingers carding through his hair again. He watches his husband suck him, tease him, pleasure him. “You’re so sexy, David. So beautiful with my cock in that perfect mouth of yours,” Patrick praises causing David to moan around him and he sees his husband grind against the mattress. 

David brings his hands underneath Patrick, grabbing his ass and pulling him closer. Patrick fucks up slowly into David’s waiting mouth. He feels the tightening in his balls and it’s going to be over way too quickly if he doesn’t stop now. Patrick pulls David off of him and he looks up at him with dark eyes and shiny, swollen lips. Patrick says, “Want you inside me baby, now.”

David’s nodding his head before making his way back up Patrick’s body to kiss him hard on the lips, tongue fucking into his mouth as he reaches into the bedside table for the lube. David pulls back from Patrick enough to get his own boxer briefs off. He coats his fingers with lube before kissing him again and circling his finger across his husband’s waiting hole. 

Patrick’s hands are all over David’s body, pulling him closer, _wanting_. David finally inserts a finger, fucking him slowly before adding in another. Patrick moans at the feeling as David fucks him with his fingers. Patrick’s hips are moving up to feel David’s hard leaking cock against his own and back down onto his fingers. “Need you now, baby, _please_ ,” Patrick begs, his voice whiny, he wants him so badly.

“Yes, yeah,” David says hurriedly as he removes his fingers and strokes some more lube onto his neglected cock, moaning at the sensation of his own hand. 

Patrick moans loudly, freely, as David pushes into him and bottoms out. He takes the back of his neck into his hands and pulls him into a heated kiss, all tongue and teeth as they breathe the same air. David fucking into him deep, snapping his hips, hands all over his body. “You feel so good, Patrick, _fuck,_ so perfect,” David babbles as he moves his lips to kiss down his jaw to his ear, sucking his earlobe into his mouth before kissing his neck. 

“Close, David,” Patrick moans as he rakes his blunt nails down David’s back.

“Touch yourself, wanna see you,” David tells him and Patrick does so instantly. Taking his hard cock into his hand and stroking it in time with David’s hard thrusts.

David hits Patrick’s prostate and Patrick cries out loud, “ _David_!” before coming hard into his fist. David is right there with him after a couple more thrusts coming hard into his husband before flopping down on top of him. 

As they regain their breaths, David slowly pulls out and lies down on his back next to Patrick. Both sticky from Patrick’s come and their combined sweat. They look at each other and smile sweetly. “We should clean up,” Patrick comments.

“Mm, you’re probably right,” David says lazily. Patrick gets out of bed and offers a hand to David who takes it. They take a shower together quickly, just cleaning themselves up before crawling back into bed and falling asleep in each other's arms. 

*

David wakes up to the feel of soft lips across his back and over his shoulder blade and to his neck. He smiles softly to himself before he feels the warm breath over his neck and his husband’s soft voice saying, “Happy anniversary, baby.”

“Mmm,” David hums as he turns over to face Patrick, kissing him instantly, morning breath be damned. Patrick kisses him back, wrapping him into his arms. Patrick tastes of mint so he’s already been up and out of bed this morning. “Happy anniversary,” David mumbles against his lips, making Patrick smile. 

They pull back to look at each other and Patrick kisses him softly on the nose. “I made breakfast,” He tells him.

“Blueberry chocolate chip pancakes?” David asks.

“Mhm,” Patrick hums as his lips move to his jaw and to his neck. “And bacon and eggs,” He adds. 

“ _Mmm_ , I love you,” David says. Patrick lips move back up to his lips, kissing him softly before pulling David out of bed with him. 

Patrick’s dressed in a white t-shirt and blue pajama bottoms so David puts on some pajama bottoms and a black t-shirt as well before joining his husband in the kitchen where they have a wonderful anniversary breakfast at the table together. 

Once they finish up breakfast and are cleaning up the kitchen, there’s a knock on the door. David goes to answer it and it’s a delivery man. “Package for David and Patrick Rose,” The man says. David can’t help but smile at that, loving hearing ‘Rose’ come after Patrick’s name. 

“Yeah,” David says, taking the small box from the man and then signing for it. 

“What’s that?” Patrick asks when David rejoins him in the kitchen. 

“I don’t know, the man just said it was a package for us,” David tells him as he places the box on the table. He opens it up and inside is a DVD in a case that says ‘watch me’ and an envelope. 

David opens the envelope to see a ‘Happy Anniversary’ card inside. He takes it out and reads it out loud, “Dear David and Patrick, happy first wedding anniversary to you both. We just wanted to say congratulations from all of us here at the experiment. Here is a little gift for you both to show you that you have proved our theory, that love is blind.” 

David looks to Patrick who has a smile on his face. “That’s nice,” Patrick says. He picks up the DVD and asks, “Shall we?”

David nods and follows Patrick into the living room where he pops the disk into their player and sit together on the sofa. 

They watch as moments of them in the experiment play on their TV. Moments of them falling in love - their first talk, how Patrick was trying to figure out his feelings, David telling Stevie how much she likes Patrick, Patrick serenading David with their song, their many chats about their pasts and about love, the moment Patrick proposed to when they finally saw each other for the first time.

They both have tears in their eyes as they watch, holding each other close. When it ends they look at each other and laugh because they’re both a mess of tears. Patrick pulls David into his arms and hugs him close. “I love you so much, David,” Patrick whispers into his ear.

“I love you, Patrick, forever,” David whispers back.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and Kudos are a girls best friend ;)
> 
> Come find me on tumblr: bellafarella


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